God's Architecture
This lecture reflected upon the concept of how different religious beliefs shape the design of religious buildings and cathedrals. Different beliefs including Pagan, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism have different faiths.
The Yew Tree is of significant importance across many religions e.g. many Pagan peoples revered the Yew Tree as a place where sacred spirits resided. Yews are traditionally found adjacent to many Christian churches.
Yew Tree
Islam - All Muslims are encouraged to always orientate themselves towards Mecca. In terms of architectural style it was interesting to see how different the ornamentation is to other religions: Islamic mosques tend to have ornate geometric decoration that is very intricate.
Christianity - Christianity is built up from a lot of different sub-traditions including Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist. Wells Cathedral (built in 1175 AD) is made up of many stained glass windows and light pathways to help educate those who were illiterate back in past times.
This lecture was particularly insightful into the ideas of how different cultures and beliefs influence religious architecture and how these differ from each other. Religious architecture is important as these locations are places of prayer, worship and pilgrimage and reflect the life of past generations and deep-rooted beliefs.
Politics of Architecture
Politics is very important in terms of making positive change within a nation whilst driving architectural design. The House of Commons reflects the idea of division and confrontation as both sides are opposing, facing each other with a lack of discussion and collaboration. This shows how 'traditional' political divides influence the way parliament buildings are designed and built.
House of Commons
Politics is a central part of how society operates and how the 'world spins' even if people have dividing beliefs. These beliefs and opinions are coming to fruition with the younger generations pressing for change across the whole spectrum of issues such as LGBTQ+, the climate crisis, gender safety/inclusivity etc which will greatly influence future ways of living and architectural design.
'If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change' - Michael Jackson
Wells Cathedral, UK
References:
Zeng, B. (2018). 70 Famous Motivational Quotes about Changing the World. PONBEE. Retrieved from https://ponbee.com/change-the-world-quotes/#:~:text=Quotes%20about%20Changing%20the%20World.%201%201.%20%E2%80%9CChange,change%20the%20world.%E2%80%9D.%20%E2%80%93%20Malala%20Yousafzai.%20More%20items.
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