Life Inside the Cloister: Understanding Monastic Architecture—Tradition, Reformation, Adaptive Reuse

by Thomas Coomans

Christian monasteries and convents, built throughout Europe for the best part of 1,500 years, are now at a crossroads. This study attempts to understand the sacred architecture of monasteries as a process of the tangible and symbolic organisation of space and time for religious communities. Despite the weight of seemingly immutable monastic tradition, architecture has contributed to developing specific religious identities and played a fundamental part in the reformation of different forms of religious life according to the changing needs of society. The cloister is the focal point of this book because it is both architecture, a physically built reality, and a metaphor for the religious life that takes place within it. Life Inside the Cloister also addresses the afterlife and heritagisation of monastic architecture in secularised Western society.

300 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2018

Reviews

[Journey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because of its stated attempt to explore the "afterlife and heritagisation of monastic architecture in secularised Western society" and particularly, the beguinage of Belgium and the Netherlands, i.e., how these buildings are being reused, the fact that they are being reused, the factors taken into consideration to decide repurpose, the question of "spirit of the place" or original purpose as a consideration of repurpose. It is an interesting study, perhaps more unique to a nonEuropean reader such as myself. This book also introduced me to the names and history of many, many European churches, convents, castles, monasteries and abbeys I otherwise would not have known. My world is thus larger by this reading. It is of interest to read how other areas of the world handle these issues.