Diminishing Spiritual Identity

Abstract

The project is composed of two components: The first involves the support of funerary cultural practice for Korean immigrants in New Zealand; and the second is the exploration of darkness and shadow in architecture and the particular qualities that may relate to Funerary Design. The task has been to create spatial sensory experiences that utilise the conditions of darkness as the stimulating instrument to achieve some kind of spiritual connection, and whether such a connection may relate back to a Korean cultural identity. Kate Goodwin, the author of Architecture re-imagined explained in her text "Sensing Spaces is about how architecture confronts us and communicates with us on an emotional and psychological as well as visual level.”1 When using the term identity, I am referring to a collective sense of belonging, one connecting present and past in a communal sense. In my case, this is a Korean diasporic identity, and this thesis considers an important ritual to the Korean community living in New Zealand. The spatial program chosen is a Korean funerary house to provide the community an opportunity for them to connect with their ancestors in a meaningful way through practice. I will begin with an explanation of how I interpret Darkness and Shadow, where I will take you through five categories, and then the second part of the presentation will describe traditional Korean funerary practices, and finishing with a description of the design project for a Funerary complex at a selected site in East Auckland.