Aspiring higher: Connecting the experience of churches and mountains

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Authors
Vivian, Samuel
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Degree
Master of Architecture (Professional)
Grantor
Unitec, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology
Date
2022-10
Supervisors
Budgett, Jeanette
Hall, Min
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Queenstown (N.Z.)
New Zealand
church architecture
spirituality in architecture
mountaineering
nature walks
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Vivian, S. (2022). Aspiring higher: Connecting the experience of churches and mountains (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec, Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6095
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION How can we connect the human experience of the alpine environment to the experience of church architecture? ABSTRACT This project works in two parts, seeking to understand the human experience of both the alpine environment and the church building. In the past, the mountains were foreboding places that were to be avoided whenever possible or traversed with great caution and respect. Today people travel into the mountains with modern equipment to escape ordinary life, prepared to face anything in search of many different kinds of sensory, emotional, spiritual, physical, or psychological experiences. Human experience of the mountains can enhance the quality of life, as a place for restorative recreation and connection with nature. Robert Macfarlane, in Mountains of the Mind, writes that we instinctively associate goodness with height, and that the mountains provide a place where we can refocus our minds. Architecture often seeks to enhance or evoke experiential qualities and perhaps the oldest form of this lies in spiritual architecture. This project looks at churches as experiential places. They signify an idea or concept beyond the physical and attempt to represent this in their architecture. They are a significant part of New Zealand’s architectural history and played a unique role within communities of the past as Bill McKay notes in Worship: A History of New Zealand Church Design. He criticises modern church architecture for its lack of architectural contemplative spaces, and its reliance on technology for engaging its audience. This project proposes church architecture in the design of contemplative spiritual space, draws inspiration from the heightened experience of mountains, and continues a tradition of providing a place for Christian communities to meet and practice their faith. Site: Te Tapanui, Queenstown Hill, New Zealand
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