Abstract:
June 2013 marks 150 years since the first arrival of the Bohemian settler’s to the area known as Puhoi, north of Auckland. This thesis is in acknowledgement and celebration of their legacy of faith and community. The study has explored sacred architecture within the specific context of New Zealand. This has been paralleled with the New Monastic movement which learns from and is inspired by the history of monasticism but seeks to develop the possibilities of this living within the context of our contemporary New Zealand society. The proposal of the thesis is for a Contemporay Monastery located at Puhoi which encompasses the sacred across all realms of daily monastic life through five main buildings: a Communal Space, a Chapel, a Prayer Hut, Domestic Dwellings and an Architecture of Baptism. May you enjoy and be inspired.