This book is an architectural thesis researched and completed at The Pennsylvania State University during the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters to satisfy the requirements of the Bachelor of Architecture program and the Schreyer Honors College.
Abstract:
In society the church played two roles: architecturally and spiritually. Architecturally the church was a symbolic landmark that reflected community values. They were often located at urban centers and they celebrated the unique identity and history of a place. Spiritually their form inspired an appreciation and reflection on human existence while their function served to quell people’s existential anxieties on death, meaninglessness, and condemnation through ritual and moral acts. Due to a growing increase in religious unaffiliation, churches across the country have been forced to close their doors. The removal of the church from society has created an architectural and spiritual void. The solution is not to reinsert the rejected church back into its former role but to find a replacement that will empower citizens to define for themselves a common ethos that engages with the significance of the city and human life as a whole.