Designing Secular Sacred Space
Grace Hopkins
This thesis seeks to uncover relationships between the designed elements of sacred spaces, regardless of religion or beliefs. These elements may relate to sensory experiences, and how they play a role in producing the feeling of being in the presence of a higher power. This topic is relevant in today’s increasingly secular, and digitized society. As many people are viewing the world with a more agnostic or atheist approach, what will happen to sacred space and how we experience it? Along with being relevant in today’s society, this topic has been relevant since the start of humanity. Time and time again human beings have sought out or created spaces dedicated to sacred rituals, gatherings, reflection, ceremonies, and more.
Capstone
My capstone project consists of five secular sacred spaces in New York (Golconda Skatepark, East Williamsburg/Bushwick Street Art Collective, Socrates Sculpture Park, Grand St Bridge, and The Strand). In the book, I use photography and text to uncover the connections between the space, design, and inherent sacredness. Each space consists of different design attributes, which I set out to connect with their sacred auras.
Secular Altar Box
The Secular Altar Box is a mini altar with no defining religion or beliefs. The altar comes with prompt cards to inspire different ways to use the altar. However, people are invited to interact with the altar in any way they like. The materials and design of the altar were chosen to create an aura that inspires a meditative state. I built the altar by creating the structural and geometric design in Illustrator and then using a laser cutter. The geometric and seemingly complex shapes etched into the altar are inspired by sacred geometry, an ancient visual system based on ratios and forms found in natural phenomena. Many religious and spiritual symbolism is derived from these shapes. However, I purposely created the shapes to be complex enough to read no religious symbolism, while preserving the evidence of the sacred geometric structures. When light shines through the material and geometric shapes, vibrant images project onto the walls, building an awe-inspiring atmosphere in the space encompassing it.
