Church of the wherever

Abstract

As we experience life on this planet, our senses are bombarded with multitudes of stimuli. We perceive them and give them meaning. Our lifelong experience of doing this equips us with the capacity to place values and give judgements on these meanings. In architecture, this leads us to value those structures which derive meanings from our cultural experiences. Those structures can then be influential on their users. The church is one building type that is very capable of doing this. Church buildings today usually fall into two categories: those that are thought to be a holy place of God and are lavished with an outpouring of money and architecture, and those that are utilitarian structures with a couple of symbols pasted on. My thesis is based on my position that the building should be based on correct Biblical interpretations and not past, often incorrect traditions. When my thesis is completed, I will have designed a church building that will incorporate my conclusions which will provide a revised interpretation of what a church building should mean.