Phenomenology in Church Architecture: A Case Study of Kampala’s Traditional &Modern Places Of Worship
- Francis Ssempijja
- Sep 28, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 22
Abstract
Spirituality is a very complex topic to discuss; this is due to the fact that it is not tangible and is subject to people‟s views and opinions.
Despite this, architecture when handled properly has an ability of freezing and resonating the sacred, Godliness and spirituality in a space.
The goal of this study is to acquire recommendations for design strategies approaches for the design of places of worship that are rich in experiences for the people who use them and then finally be able to give guidelines on how to develop a place of worship that reflects the whole essence of spirituality in its sense of user experience. The study will enable designers, planners, clergy and pastors to understand what is required to create places of worship that enhance spiritual encounters in relation to their context.
Background
According to Juhani Pallasmaa, an architect and a phenomenologist, in his book “the eyes of the skin”, he demanded a less prominent role of vision in the experience of architecture, in a chapter ‟multisensory architecture‟ of the named book, he explains, “experience of architecture is multi- sensory; qualities of matter, space and scale are measured equally by the eye, ear, nose, skin, tongue, skeleton and muscle.” (Pallasmaa, 1996)
Architectural phenomenology refers to the study of architectural experiences of humans in the built environment. Phenomenology promotes the integration of sensory perception as a function of a built form. It also intends to develop a unique experience for a user. It involves the manipulation of different themes to create a memorable encounter through an impact on the human senses. Phenomenology also acknowledges the unique role of an architect to design for user experience by implementing sensory design in order to establish experiential architectural spaces. People are not consciously aware of architecture yet it still has an impact on them in ways they cannot even comprehend. Despite this, architecture of the modern days has been stripped down to mainly function and form which are relevant parts of architecture but have left the part of communication between the humans and space void. This communication is experience; it is what create memorable encounters through an impact on human senses.
Of all forms of architecture, the architecture of spaces and places of worship, requires a high level of user experience and multi-sensory experience to best achieve the holiness, spirituality, Godliness that they require. This means that the architect‟s handling of light, materials and tactility within this space is very important in achieving these experiences.
In the winter of 1955 – 56, during a week night service, God gave a prophetic call to Glad Tidings to take the “Full Gospel” to Uganda, East Africa. After long struggles to bring evangelism to Uganda, in May 1960, Glad Tidings Missionary Society was issued a permit to do Mission work in Uganda. This birthed the full gospel churches in Uganda as the first Pentecostal mission in the country. The first church was the Naguru full gospel church but at the same time the tent Tabernacle at Makerere also called Makerere full gospel church was opened.
This led to the growth and introduction of many other churches in the country, but by 1977, President Idi Amin banned all Pentecostal churches which made most of them go underground and grew even more. When the freedom of worship was restored after Amin‟s fall in 1979, many Pentecostal churches blossomed this growth can be seen even up to today with at least a Pentecostal church in every side of the nation.These churches come in all forms. Everywhere you go in Uganda, urban or rural, residential or commercial area you will see a church. Small or large, brick or glass furnished or wood patted, you will see a church – a Pentecostal church. From being branded 'Biwempe' Churches with a handful of followers, today some of the Pentecostal churches boast of modern well-built church auditoriums with tens of thousands of congregates locally known as 'Balokole'.
This brings me to the question of whether these churches are designed for proper user experience in terms of spirituality and how do they really compare with the churches of the more traditional religions.Most of the traditional churches like Namirembe and Rubaga Cathedrals appear to have been designed based on concepts of user experience and multi-sensory architecture. There has been a growing change in the architecture of modern churches especially the Pentecostal type for example Miracle Centre Cathedral. The designs of these modern churches are departing from those seen in the traditional churches to more of auditorium-like designs that cater mainly for numbers and not necessarily the experience of the worshiper.
Research Questions
What is the basis for classifying church architecture in Kampala?
What are the attributes for the different forms of church architecture in Uganda?
How can experiential or phenomenological places of worship that reflect the essence of spirituality to their users in Kampala be achieved?
Read full article here:
About the author:
Francis Ssempijja is a graduate architect with a Bachelor of Architecture from Makerere University. He is co-founder of multi-disciplinary firm Atelier FEA that does 3D physical model visualisation, product design as well as film and photography.
Σχόλια