Extracting the Essence: 'A Back to Basics' Approach to Church Architecture

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to address an attitude towards the design of church buildings in post denominational New Zealand through an investigation of the original practices of the church in the Apostolic Age. It seeks a contemporary model that is in harmony with the church's original spirit and purpose by investigating two primary sources, namely (a) the New Testament of The Bible, and (b) the archaeological ruins of the Apostle Peter's (purported) converted house-church. At the turn of the last century church building design began to diverge from the language of heavy masonry, spires, high ceilings and stained glass windows. Challenged by the emerging ideas of modernism and the Liturgical Movement (targeting the restoration of unity and active congregational participation) it soon led to the current trend that remembers a time when the church first began and did not have its own buildings. In post denominational New Zealand, church buildings have taken on much simpler forms, even borrowing from other typologies such as theatres or warehouses. The proposition of this dissertation is a test model that makes a contribution to ecclesiastical architecture (which currently privileges economics, pragmatics and fashion) by suggesting the possibility of an additive enrichment through a deliberate translation of my findings into a design approach.