Designing Spaces for God (06-15-10)

Manning and his colleagues investigated “design features that satisfy or dissatisfy worshippers who attend Mass at a traditionally designed Catholic church and a modern Catholic church design.”  The modern church studied is laid out in a fan shape to increase interaction among members of the religious community, while the traditional church is laid out in a fan shape, so that worshippers had some view of each other.  The modern church also has a relatively large area where congregants can gather out of the weather, which the traditional church does not.  The sense of community was equivalent among parishioners at both the traditional and modern church:  “This was unanticipated as it should follow that with parish 2’s [modern church] explicit attention to community in its design intent, there would have been a higher connection between parish members.  For instance, the church is more available to the disabled and elderly, has larger interior gathering spaces, and has a fan-shaped arrangement of pews and visual focus on the alter consistent with ‘communal’ design.”  This study indicates the power of nonverbal communication by design elements and the importance of prior place experience.   The researchers conclude that “This study seems to indicate that traditional churches designed to house God may well foster communion with God and, in turn, other congregants.”

Kevin Manning, Nicholas Watkins, and Kathryn Anthony.  2009.  “The People or the Steeple?  An Examination of Sacramental Architecture Among Parishioners.”   Sacred Architecture, vol. 16, pp. 17-19.