Wrap it, wrap it up like a Burito! #conclusion

hello peeps! Probably the last time i would ever say this as this is my last post on this blog. Sigh time does fly doesn't it? Still remember when I was first given this task I was pretty clueless and slightly sad? I enjoy blogging as my hobby but what?! they're turning my hobby into a homework?! no way :( but after weeks and weeks of blogging I actually did enjoy it although i had to crack my head up for for relevant opinion and minimum 4 to 5 hours of researching every single time but well i do gain a lot of knowledge through blogging so i guess it's all worth it! Back to main topic, today i'm going to make a conclusion about my topic which is ''What identifies a religious building?'' according to the research and opinion I've given from the previous posts, i'll be refreshing your memory and summarize everything. soooooo let's start!

I've done two case studies which are Chartres Cathedral and Taj Mahal. In both of these case studies, I've came to a conclusion where both of these religious buildings have significant respective symbolic identities, appearance wise and ornamentation wise. Since Taj Mahal and Chartres Cathedral aren't something that have been built in recent year but instead they're considered as the ancient buildings so do future religious buildings be of neutral design, does not conform to any religious identity or characteristics or should it uphold its tradition appearance with symbolic identities? In my opinion, YES, religious buildings should definitely remain its tradition appearance with symbolic identities. 

Why? This is because when we think of religion it naturally links to tradition. Religious building is a place for sincere prayers and a place to seek connection with God. Imagine an ordinary building with absolutely no hint of any religious identities, what's the point? Religion is something that has been passed down by our ancestors since the ancient times, a symbolic identity or icon is like the essence of the history of a religion. Furthermore, people these days deeply rely on visualization more than anything, word is no longer the main method of communication.The beautiful ornamentation on the inside or the outside of religious buildings are crucial since human are naturally drawn to good design. One will be able to feel the connection with God through it, mosaic that depicts God or calligraphy, arabesque on the inside of outside of the building, they're important. Religion has always been a sensitive topic, wars have been triggered because of religion. Extremist easily take opposite religious building as a target to attack. Some may thought that if we were able to unify and take away the religious symbolic icon and remain neutral design, it would be better but no, religious identities act as an unifying force among the believers, if it were to be taken away, faith might be weaken. 

One can't just simply use the word ''modernize'' as an excuse to take away the symbolic identities of a religious building. But the world is changing rapidly, we can't possibly just remain where we are, we have to keep up the pace in case we would get left behind, it applies to religious building too. To avoid being eliminated or being look down for not being able to catch up with the world. Change is essential. It would be a hard task for architects to design a modern religious building as it involve specific challenges as the religion were created and established centuries ago and it could easily trigger dissatisfaction among believers. So my solution would be, combine both modern and tradition. Keep the traditions but modernize it, be it the change of material or position or ornamentation. Architects can design a religious building with a modernize appearance but an eye-catching position or sizes of religious identities for the exterior. A good example would be Frøyland Og Orstad Kyrkje.

Frøyland Og Orstad Kyrkje.

(Krase, n.d.).

''Church along an axial path and a guideline with custom-made concrete tiles depicting biblical quotes'' (Krase, n.d.) See? the placement of the significant ornamentation is changed but people is still be able to acknowledge it. Design a religious building that can easily be recognized as a religious building. The crosscut that represents Christian is very obvious, people can definitely tell that it's a church just by a glance.

For the interior, i would suggest to remain the tradition with all the stunning ornamentation, a religious building shouldn't just be hollowed ambient space purely for prayer and reflections. Religious building serves a total different meaning and purpose compared to other structures, it often evoke a mystical feeling. Modernize exterior with a twist in the interior, preserving the traditions but not being left behind. To conclude it, both interior or exterior of a religious building should never be neutral design regardless anything. Religious building's main purpose is for believers to worship God, the ornamentation and symbolic icon are one of the easiest ways for believers to feel the connection with God, it should never ever be considered to be taken away and that's my two cents. What about yours?

References:

Krase, H. (n.d.). Frøyland Orstad Church. [online] Linkarkitektur.com. Available at: http://linkarkitektur.com/en/Projects/Froeyland-Orstad-Church [Accessed 25 Jun. 2016].

Image Resources :

Kruse, H. (n.d.). Frøyland Orstad Church. [image] Available at: http://linkarkitektur.com/en/Projects/Froeyland-Orstad-Church [Accessed 25 Jun. 2016].

More about Chatres Cathedral!

Hello guys!! Welcome back to my blog, mixed feelings going around now since this will be my second last post, but actually technically this is supposed to be my last post but i miscalculated a little so one more extra entry later! I'll be talking about the interior of Chartres Cathedral today and for my extra blog post i will be wrapping things up and give you guys more in depth of what I think of what define a religious building! So stay tuned. <3

Still remember how Chartres Cathedral looks like from the outside? Let's rewind a little.  Chartres Cathedral is recognized as one of the three masterpieces of the French Gothic style alongside the cathedrals of Amiens and Reims (Lewis, 2008). Chartres Cathedral is known for its windows, which are regarded as the most harmonious and vivacious collections of stained glass ever assembled. Chartres Cathedral consists of flying buttresses to resist the stress of the vaults and arches. Moreover, the cathedral is known for its two contrasting spires, south and north tower. Chartres Cathedral also has a cycle of sculpture in the portals.

(Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures, 2014)

Inside Chartres Cathedral, the internal space is breathtaking, the Gothic vault uses pointed arches, this makes the space lighter with more defined thrusts, combined with flying buttresses, the construction is able to carry a great deal of weight, including the stained glasses. The unbroken line of vision down the 128m long nave, from the western entrance through the wide choir to the rounded double ambulatory (Lewis, 2008).  ''The clustered columns run from the plain bases to the vault directing the eyes to the large stained class windows'' (Sacred-destinations.com, 2016).

(Williams, 2015)

Columns rise from the base to the high pointed vault.

(Best of Catholic Architecture, 2015)

Throughout the cathedral, it's filled with stained glass as it retains one of the most complete collections of medieval stained glass. The stained glass has this vivid colour splash and imitable cobalt blue colour this helps in adding the dimension of colour to the light into the cathedral. The stained glasses depict scenes from biblical history for example, the rose windows above the central entrance portal depicts the Last Judgement (French Moments, 2012). Rose windows are characteristic of the Gothic style. They are large circular wheel windows which was rare in the ancient times as it was new for them to be able to carve out a circular shape instead of their regular rigid rectangular stained glasses.

One of the Rose Windows of Chatres Cathedral.

(Bull, 2013)

(cathedral plans, and facts, 2016)

''The plan is cruciform, with a 92-foot-long nave and short transepts to the south and north. The east end is rounded, with five semi-circular chapels radiating from it'' (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2013). As for the orientation one would realize cathedrals are not reliably oriented east-west, but variable.

The main altar usually are at the ‘eastern’ end, the prime public entrance is at the ‘west’, with side entrance at ‘north’ and ‘south’ (Abelard.org, 2013).

and....... that's it from me today, just a rough introduction of interior of Chartres Cathedral. I like how the cathedral exerts the mystical and holy vibe and apparently the architecture and ornamentation did a good job. On the other hand, Church of the Light by Tadao Ando is a great example of minimalist Church, Tadao Ando makes use of natural light he uses the cross cut in the concrete wall that allows penetration of sunlight to make one feels peace in the church. The contrary between Chatres Cathedral and Church of the Light are huge and obvious, so which do you prefer?

References :

Sacred-destinations.com. (2016). Chartres Cathedral - Chartres, France. [online] Available at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Newworldencyclopedia.org. (2013). Chartres Cathedral - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chartres_Cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

French Moments. (2012). Chartres Cathedral - French Moments. [online] Available at: http://frenchmoments.eu/chartres-cathedral/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Abelard.org. (2013). cathedral plans, and facts | France zone at abelard.org. [online] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

Image Sources :

Best of Catholic Architecture. (2015). [image] Available at: http://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=9940.0 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Bull, P. (2013). Another of THE Great Cathedrals?. [image] Available at: https://enthusiastical.wordpress.com/category/cathedral/page/2/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

cathedral plans, and facts. (2013). [image] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures. (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.thehistoryhub.com/chartres-cathedral-facts-pictures.htm [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Williams, M. (2015). Iconic Buildings: Chartres Cathedral. [image] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/iconic-buildings3a-chartres-cathedral/6642224 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].