The Sacred Life of Home and City

“Architecture is not about ethereal symbolism or innovation for the sake of innovation, it is rather the extent to which a building can transcend from the measurable into the immeasurable, the extent to which a building can spiritually uplift and inspire man…”

-Craig Ellwood

Photograph Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu by Mitchell Rocheleau. Copyright 2019

The Sacred Life of Home and City

Deep into our ancient past, humans have been building sacred spaces. These came in the form of megalithic monuments, temples, ziggurats, pyramids, cathedrals, shrines, and mosques, among countless others. Spirituality, ritual, myth, and religion consumed their daily lives. Our ancestors created sacred spaces on Earth to honor and connect with their gods and the heavens.

The placement and design of many ancient structures illustrate an understanding of the sun's patterns, solstices, and astrology.  Our ancestors were fascinated by these natural phenomena and aspired to connect and understand the world above them. Their monuments were often seen as portals between Earth and the heavens.

Many of these structures were built high on mountaintops or as tall as possible to reach the heavens. They aspired to create sacred spaces to elevate beyond the chaos, brutality and homogeneity of the world on earth. Exceptional scale, craft, material, and symbolism were implemented in their buildings to differentiate them from the world around them.

In many ancient cultures, the home or dwelling was also considered a sacred space. Often, it was thought of as a microcosm of the more prominent sacred monument at the center of the community. In the home, ritual and prayer, spiritual ceremonies, consecrations, connection with the gods, and family celebrations were carried out. The individual dwelling unit was a distinct space that had a higher meaning and performed a much larger role than simply shelter. The creation of architecture and space became one of our species' most effective methods for facilitating connection with the spiritual dimension of our human nature.

In the early 20th century, architect Le Corbusier stated that the house was “a machine for living.” While it would be difficult to believe he was supporting a complete eradication of spiritual life from our homes, we can indeed see a perspective shift in how “home” was perceived. The purpose of the house had shifted away from the sacred and spiritual center of a family. In this new age, the home was to become a place of absolute efficiency, mechanization, and functionality. In this shift, we may have lost a profound element of our human nature.

Sacred vs. Profane Space

Mircea Eliade's book The Sacred and the Profane describes the difference between what he believes to be two ways of viewing the world: the sacred and the profane. These two types of experiences, help illustrate the difference between how modern man views the world vs. how our ancient ancestors viewed the world.  

For our spiritual ancestors, space is not homogenous. It was organized, given structure and meaning through the creation of sacred spaces. Monuments or spaces constructed and concreted by our ancient ancestors served as fixed points to orient themselves in space. They were made special, which elevated and differentiated them beyond everything else. Eliade referred to everything else as profane space.

He describes how most modern men experience their environments space and time as profane. Profane space is homogeneous, ill-defined, and can be chaotic, with minimal organization or hierarchy. He states that we have come to live increasingly in a desacralized profane world.

Modern man tends not to experience sacred or illuminated spaces. Rather, we see a formless neutral space without qualitative differentiation. Establishing orientation or internal organization in this world is challenging, as all space is amorphous and appears like an indistinguishable sludge.

Architecture was one of the most common methods our ancestors used to create and differentiate sacred space in the world. Architecture innately has the ability to elevate one’s experience and evoke a primitive spiritual sensation within us. This is not a religious epiphany accompanied by immediate conversion to a particular faith. Rather it is much smaller, a small sensation of joy, mystery, inspiration and connection deep within our beings. A work of architecture’s presence and design can elevate ones experience from the profane into the sacred.

Despite our modern world operating mostly in the realm of the profane, Eliade suggests that we still have tendencies and desires to experience the sacred world. We thirst for the moments where spaces and experiences are elevated beyond the daily humdrum. Where pockets of joy, presence, gratitude and clarity are evoked by the beauty of a space or repetition of a ritual in a meaningful location.

Making Home Sacred

In our modern world, I fear that the home and the city are disassociating from their spiritual and sacred history. These spaces are not offered conscious attention and care in order to elevate them beyond the profane. They seem to be increasingly viewed only as shelter or a functional box for living, when they can be so much more for us. The square footage and bed/bath count seem to be the market standard on how we value a home. This only operates on one level of our capability.

Creating Sacred Architecture

The study of architecture history, in many ways, cannot be separated from the history of spirituality. Our human intuition towards the sacred and spiritual is perhaps why architecture was created in the first place. Ancient humans began to create buildings and monuments to make spaces meaningful, honor their gods, hold rituals, and gather. These works of architecture created hierarchy and organization in a confusing and brutal world. It emulated and facilitated connection with a larger force in our world.  

At the core of my architectural work, there has been an intuitive desire to create sacred spaces. I was not aware of this intuition early in my journey, however over time, I became conscious of the instinct. The highest goal was and still is, to create an opportunity where people could experience a sacred moment.