Center for Silence: An Inclusive Space for Pause and Reflection

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In Folder: 2017 Theses

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Center for Silence: An Inclusive Space for Pause and Reflection

Submitted to in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, April 2017

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title: Center for Silence: An Inclusive Space for Pause and Reflection

creator: Samuel Austin Maloney

subject: Religious facilities, Designs and plans; Sacred space; Religious architecture

description: The Western world has developed over the past two centuries at an extraordinary rate due to capitalism. This has led to an age of overconnectivity, a surplus of cultural noise, and disregard for the impacts of humanity on the planet. Happening congruously with the rise of capitalism was the great secularization of the Western world, resulting in a pluralistic society which accepts all forms of religion; organized, absent, or otherwise. Although society has pivoted back to its roots in individually oriented belief systems, the secularization of everyday rituals has perpetuated a culture of distraction. Individuals have become self-centered, yet disconnected from the profound idea of who they are and how they relate to the cosmos. A solution to these cultural issues is to encourage secularized individuals to pause, unplug, and take a moment to consider their existence. The architecture to support this adjustment is that which provides space for profound silence, which is not quite the absence of noise, but instead the energy of infinite quietude. This is best achieved when materialized as a sequence of spaces which employ contextual awareness, a balance of light and shadow, and connections to natural elements. These three architectural motifs culminate in a symphony of profound silence, decodable by the individual occupant and prompting one to pause and experience a transcendent moment of reflection.

publisher: The Douglas D. Schumann Library and Learning Commons, Wentworth Institute of Technology

date: 2017

type: Thesis

format: .pdf

language: eng

rights: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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