Interfaith Design

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The AIA Interfaith Design (ID) Knowledge Community encourages and supports excellence in the design of worship spaces and their accoutrements. Interfaith Design is an association of professionals whose primary interest is religious facilities in a broad array of traditions. We value an interfaith forum for the exchange of ideas relating to religion, art, and architecture. Join us!

  • 1.  2018 Worship Design Trends?

    Posted 10-19-2017 10:56 AM
    Hello, IFRAA! I'd like to gather some thoughts on any worship design trends which might impact and inform our designs for the coming year. Have you spotted any interesting trends in your region?

    Thanks for any insight you're willing to share!


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    Katherine Ball AIA
    LS3P Associates, LTD.
    Raleigh NC
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  • 2.  RE: 2018 Worship Design Trends?

    Posted 10-19-2017 02:28 PM

    We believe that Worship venue design will continue to trend toward supporting immersive worship experiences that are often dependent on relatively sophisticated Audio and Video systems. There will continue to be emphasis on large Community Gathering spaces and secure, state-of-the-art environments for Children and Youth education. Sustainable design is beginning to emerge as a priority for many congregations. Church campuses are beginning to promote walk-ability, environmental sustainability and mixed-use options that dove-tail and integrate church campuses into the surrounding community.

    Stylistically, we believe that many churches are favoring a more 'authentic' representation of who they are. The architecture is straightforward and honest, not glitzy and artificial. The modern church is not cloistered and mysterious, it is open and accessible. Creating more transparent buildings can reveal the life of the church and become a visible extension of (and connected to) the community that surrounds the church. Elaborate detailing and expensive materials have given way to more creative uses of inexpensive materials that are durable and easily maintained. Raw concrete is celebrated not concealed, structural elements are exposed and paints and stains have often become the interior finish of choice.

    Cost effective construction techniques, like the use of tilt-wall concrete, can allow for high quality construction at affordable prices. Energy efficiency should dominate the trend toward 'green' design, which will become the mandated norm for most future construction. Parking solutions will seek options for 'shared' scenarios, which can reduce the extravagant (and expensive) amount of paving that surrounds (and disconnects) most large church campuses, freeing up budget dollars that can be applied toward landscaping and creating more meaningful outdoor environments.




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    Stephen Pickard AIA
    GFF Architects
    Dallas TX
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  • 3.  RE: 2018 Worship Design Trends?

    Posted 10-20-2017 05:40 PM
    I'm seeing increasing evidence for a new, more nuanced attitudes to architectures of the past, especially among younger architects and congregants. I wrote an article on these themes in the May/June 2017 issue of Texas Architect magazine that might be of interest:

    Traditionalism Resurgent - Texas Architect Magazine

    "Tradition in architecture no longer needs to be a dirty word. A new, descriptive approach to resurgent living traditions will further the trends of openness to historical forms and actions, resurgent ecumenism, and the leaving behind of the baggage of outdated polemics.

    At the same time, we see evidence of contrary trends toward increasingly isolated partisan tribes with pillarized sects, medias, and, possibly, architectures. These prefer isolated models of absolute ideals that signal distinctions between in and out, us and them.

    However, with the requisite sophistication to appreciate the specificity of contexts and multiple dialects, tradition need not lead to a universal model or prescriptivist exclusivity. Engaging the tensions in tradition and imagining complexly our clients' motivations will lead to more nuanced sacred buildings and their mutual enrichment."



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    Jason John Paul Haskins, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
    Locus Iste | Church-building from Liturgy & Worship | http://locusiste.org
    Bercy Chen Studio | http://bcarc.com
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  • 4.  RE: 2018 Worship Design Trends?

    Posted 10-23-2017 05:32 PM
      |   view attached
    Team, Just wondering if there is any interest in our work published in the Annals of Palliative Medicine in July. The title of the article is Sacred Space and the Healing Journey. Thank you for your consideration.

    --
    Paul L. Alt   AIA + NCARB
    Alt Architecture + Research Associates LLC
    www.althealingsanctuary.com

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  • 5.  RE: 2018 Worship Design Trends?

    Posted 10-21-2017 03:07 AM
    In N. American contemporary sacred art, we are seeing 2016 - 2018 trends in the following areas:

    1) Naturalism/Enviornmentalism - a return to raw organic and natural materials - particularly in ad hoc (temporary) in-sanctuary installations;
    2) Alchemistic - a resurgence of immutable properties and themes; especially in lighting, labyrinth, gardens, or other creative placemaking;
    3) Mysticism/Exotic - a refocus on mystical, magical, shamanistic or other non-liturgical undertones as an appeal to wider generational sectors;
    4) Hand-crafted - sanctuary exterior art installations relying on traditional arts, hand-crafted arts, and collaborative arts projects (murals);
    5) Wordless Sermons - sermons, events & activities increasingly embracing wordless form in dance, music, or visual homiletic art expressions for immersive & experiential forays; 
    6) Monastic/Silent - activities centered around the removal of the electronic screen & the (temporary) withdrawal from day-to-day life, particularly via the embrace of alternative site settings, forest-bathing, soundless retreats, independent monastic practices, or collaborative communal approaches;
    7) Minimalism & Abstraction - aesthetic tendencies towards luminescence, transfiguration, abstraction, invitational interpretations;
    8) Neon/Mirror - increased demand for and use of highly saturated color and reflection intensities, particularly in night-scape activities.


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    Shauna Lee Lange
    Independent Sacred Art Advisory
    shaunaleelange@gmail.com
    941.875.5190
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