Beyond walls and altars

Beyond walls and altars: Shaping Spiritual Landscapes in the Modernist Chapel Potentiality, Embodied Search for Transformation, Architectural Evolution of Spiritual Space

Ramshini, Iman (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft History, Form & Aesthetics)

Teunissen, M.M. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

AR2A011

2024-04-18

This study examines the complex interplay of utopian vision, embodied experience, and social change within the context of modernistic religious architecture. Using Manfred Tafuri's critique of architectural utopianism (1976) and Giorgio Agamben's potentiality theory (2004) as a framework, the thesis analyzes two seminal structures: Peter Zumthor's Bruder Klaus Field Chapel and Le Corbusier's Colline Notre Dame du Haut. These case studies reveal how the manipulation of architectural elements such as form, materiality, and light creates opportunities for disruption and transformation within the visitor's experience. While embodying elements of utopian aspiration, the chapel's success hinges on the visitor's ability to engage with these design elements and connect on a personal level.

Beyond Tafuri's focus on the inherent limitations of architectural utopianism, this study draws on Agamben's theory to explore how Bruder Klaus and Notre Dame du Haut offer spaces for potentiality to manifest. This potential allows for personal and spiritual transformation that departs from experiences evoked by traditional hierarchies found within many religious structures.

The thesis contends that the pursuit of spiritual transformation through modernistic religious architecture exists within a complex and dynamic interplay of utopian idealism, embodied experience, and the realities of social and political power.

Keywords: Modernist architecture, religious architecture, utopianism, potentiality, embodied experience, Peter Zumthor, Le Corbusier

AR2A011
Modernist architecture
religious architecture
utopianism
Le Corbusier
Peter Zumthor
embodied experience
potentiality

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© 2024 Iman Ramshini