SPIRITUALITY IN ARCHITECTUREArchitecture, Art, and Existential Sacredness

The ontological task of architecture is usually seen in providing physical shelter from external threats and the elements. The experience of spirituality evoked by a work of art or architecture is essentially a different category than the experience of religious sacredness. The narrative or symbolic representation of mythical and sacred events has historically been one of the central themes of artistic works, but even in these representations of explicit religious events, the actual experience of sacredness arises from artistic qualities, suggestions, and associations irrespective of any deliberate, religious symbolism. The materiality of architecture and the material uniformity evoke experiences of serenity. The experience of the spiritual in a natural phenomenon or a work of art and architecture is a reflection of a longing for sacredness and beauty. A powerful work of art creates a kind of a short circuit of consciousness by means of weakening our rational capacities of deduction, and inviting primordial emotional reactions.