| Title |
A Study on the Phenomenological Expression Method of Spatial Composition Factor in a Contemporary Catholic Church - Focused on a Physical Perception through the Spatial Concept by Maurice Merleau-Ponty - |
| Authors |
Chung, Jin-Won ; SoByung-Il |
| Keywords |
Contemporary Catholic Church Architecture ; Maurice Merleau-Ponty ; Phenomenological Method of Expression and Characteristics ; Spatial Concept ; Physical Perception ; Spital Composition Factor |
| Abstract |
Since churches are a spiritual meeting place between people and God, church architecture requires elements that can bring out admiration for the almighty or religious feelings. Humans experience through what they see with eyes, which act as a bridge of imagination, and can even believe they have experienced what actually does not exist. Thus, people use senses based on vision to perceive, analyze, and understand the stimulations from objects and the world. Particularly, in experiencing the space in architecture, it requires perception that combines body senses and its interaction with the space in order to understand hidden meaning of the space. A philosophical explanation namely phenomenology is needed in order to explain such mechanism, because a church is not simply a building but a religious architecture that should bring out admiration and religious sentiment for the Supreme Being. Therefore, it requires many symbols and spatial devices to lead people to God. This study, hence, examines the phenomenological concept of space of Merleau Ponty, which emphasizes experience through body perception, and perception methods in order to explain the phenomenological expressions of modern churches and their relation to architecture styles, and the results are as follows: Spatial perception, Memory and empirical perception, Transformative perception and Synesthetic perception. The phenomenological expressions illustrated by spatial composition factor of architecture (water feature, wall, column, window, skylight, surrounding, belfry with cross, stairs, ramp, and bridge, etc.) are perceived by the four senses mentioned above. These allow forming proper church architecture space where God, people, and nature become integrated, as well as ‘religious richness’ through the believers’ ‘active participation.’ |