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The Sacred In-Between: The Mediating Roles of Architecture
The sacred place was, and still is, an intermediate zone created in the belief that it has the ability to co-join the religious aspirants to their gods. An essential means of understanding this sacred architecture is through the recognition of its role as an ‘in-between’ place. Establishing the contexts, approaches and understandings of architecture through the lens of the mediating roles often performed by sacred architecture, this book offers the reader an extraordinary insight into the forces behind these extraordinary buildings. Written by a well-known expert in the field, the book draws on a unique range of cases, reflecting on these inspiring places, their continuing ontological significance and the lessons they can offer today. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in sacred architecture.
- GenresArchitecture
284 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Thomas Barrie
12 books6 followersThomas Barrie is a Blogger, Marketer, Designer & Indie Author from St. Thomas Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 4, 2015
Engaging in the art and spirit of sacred architecture is fundamental to our contact with divinity, revealing our most profound ways of being with the world. Here, author Thomas Barrie offers his insightful, scholarly and beautifully written book, The Sacred In-Between: The Mediating Roles of Architecture, on the profound relationship between architecture and spirituality and how this transaction provides meaning for us.
By introducing David’s biblical lament, “How long wilt thou hide thy face from me”, Barrie sets the stage for sacred architecture’s role of bringing people and divinity together. The author assures us that sacred architecture is more than merely the messenger, articulating archetypal expressions of spirituality that infiltrate our very core and the content of our religion: as God, pantheism, nature, and/or complete awakening itself. For sacred architecture can become the voice of divinity itself, preparing us for communicative connections that surface from deep within ourselves, placing ‘who I am’ and ‘where I am’ in the world and the cosmos.
Early in the book, when the reader would want to know, the author clearly states his philosophical intentions and interpretive interests in sacred architecture’s mediating role: through its use and ritual in direct response to cultural beliefs and imperatives; as a communicative media expressing symbolic, mythological, doctrinal and historical content; and as precedent for understanding shared patterns. He writes, “Sacred architecture embodies the messages of divinity, whose full meaning is revealed through the serial tableaux that unfolds as pilgrims ambulate its spaces – a participation in the nature of form and space.”
Like Emerson’s, “Art is the Creator’s Path to the Work.” Or Plotinus’, “Materiality’s becoming beautiful, flowing from the Divine”.
Certainly, the author’s presentation of sacred architecture is a many-splendoured theme. Drawing upon his expansive knowledge of linguistics, phenomenology and hermeneutics as analytic foundation, Barrie undertakes profound inquiry into how sacred architecture is viewed through varied approaches to spirituality. No pedantic ecclesiastical discourse here, he provides a richness of thought and poetic-like discourse to present the trajectory of provocative ideas one would expect to deeply analyze the grounding for sacred architecture. The author’s sketches and black and white photographs are well placed throughout the text to supplement the written with the visual.
Leading the reader through diverse and extensive resources like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Buddhist Pali Canon support the author’s ideas. His perceptive analysis of Carl Jung’s house at Bollingen, Switzerland, is a highlight that presents architecture as an image of the psyche, Jung’s means to reconcile his outer and inner worlds, as it could the readers’ own.
One criticism is the author’s reliance on the pedagogically priggish phrase, ‘I argue’, to declare a point made, perhaps demanded by academia. However, as the author generally writes with “the sensual engagement of sacred architecture” – that‘s his writing style that continually engages the reader. Here is the author’s being touched by beauty, art and architecture, and his expressions of architecture and spirituality as one is writing with which the reader will synch.
By introducing David’s biblical lament, “How long wilt thou hide thy face from me”, Barrie sets the stage for sacred architecture’s role of bringing people and divinity together. The author assures us that sacred architecture is more than merely the messenger, articulating archetypal expressions of spirituality that infiltrate our very core and the content of our religion: as God, pantheism, nature, and/or complete awakening itself. For sacred architecture can become the voice of divinity itself, preparing us for communicative connections that surface from deep within ourselves, placing ‘who I am’ and ‘where I am’ in the world and the cosmos.
Early in the book, when the reader would want to know, the author clearly states his philosophical intentions and interpretive interests in sacred architecture’s mediating role: through its use and ritual in direct response to cultural beliefs and imperatives; as a communicative media expressing symbolic, mythological, doctrinal and historical content; and as precedent for understanding shared patterns. He writes, “Sacred architecture embodies the messages of divinity, whose full meaning is revealed through the serial tableaux that unfolds as pilgrims ambulate its spaces – a participation in the nature of form and space.”
Like Emerson’s, “Art is the Creator’s Path to the Work.” Or Plotinus’, “Materiality’s becoming beautiful, flowing from the Divine”.
Certainly, the author’s presentation of sacred architecture is a many-splendoured theme. Drawing upon his expansive knowledge of linguistics, phenomenology and hermeneutics as analytic foundation, Barrie undertakes profound inquiry into how sacred architecture is viewed through varied approaches to spirituality. No pedantic ecclesiastical discourse here, he provides a richness of thought and poetic-like discourse to present the trajectory of provocative ideas one would expect to deeply analyze the grounding for sacred architecture. The author’s sketches and black and white photographs are well placed throughout the text to supplement the written with the visual.
Leading the reader through diverse and extensive resources like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the Buddhist Pali Canon support the author’s ideas. His perceptive analysis of Carl Jung’s house at Bollingen, Switzerland, is a highlight that presents architecture as an image of the psyche, Jung’s means to reconcile his outer and inner worlds, as it could the readers’ own.
One criticism is the author’s reliance on the pedagogically priggish phrase, ‘I argue’, to declare a point made, perhaps demanded by academia. However, as the author generally writes with “the sensual engagement of sacred architecture” – that‘s his writing style that continually engages the reader. Here is the author’s being touched by beauty, art and architecture, and his expressions of architecture and spirituality as one is writing with which the reader will synch.
September 6, 2017
This book reports on a personal journey of discovery not just of architecture but of Life. It is always heartening to come across another who knows to equate the study of a particular realm or discipline with the broader enterprise of coming to some sort of understanding of the world and our place in it. Architecture is, just like lepidopterology, astro-physics, the history of fashions, or the study of grammar, just one of many beautiful and useful portals that frame and give access to the larger and ultimately more pressing questions about world, existence, reality, truth. Architecture and the study of it is, properly seen, an icon – a site of access. This book is testament to the fact that Thomas Barrie sees this very properly indeed.
April 26, 2023
The Sacred In-Between: The Mediating Roles of Architecture by Thomas Barrie is a beautifully written and insightful exploration of the relationship between architecture and spirituality. Drawing on a wide range of examples from around the world and throughout history, he demonstrates how the design of buildings can shape our experiences and understanding of the sacred.
What I appreciate most about this book is how it highlights the importance of the "in-between" spaces in architecture. These spaces connect us to the transcendent, whether through the play of light and shadow, the use of natural materials, or the arrangement of forms. Barrie shows how architects can use these spaces to create environments that inspire and uplift us and help us connect with the divine.
As someone who is interested in both spirituality and architecture, I found this book to be both enlightening and inspiring. Barrie's writing is clear and accessible, and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the subject. Whether you are a student of architecture, a practicing architect, or simply someone who is interested in the intersection of spirituality and design, "The Sacred In-Between" is a must-read.
What I appreciate most about this book is how it highlights the importance of the "in-between" spaces in architecture. These spaces connect us to the transcendent, whether through the play of light and shadow, the use of natural materials, or the arrangement of forms. Barrie shows how architects can use these spaces to create environments that inspire and uplift us and help us connect with the divine.
As someone who is interested in both spirituality and architecture, I found this book to be both enlightening and inspiring. Barrie's writing is clear and accessible, and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the subject. Whether you are a student of architecture, a practicing architect, or simply someone who is interested in the intersection of spirituality and design, "The Sacred In-Between" is a must-read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews