Architecture, aesth-ethics & religion

Space is the primary condition of life. It can be regarded as the Creator’s gift to the living. The human need for built environments is as existential as the need of an ecological, social and spiritual orientation. Built spaces encourage us to look for syntheses and varied connections between traditionally separate spheres: aesthetics/ethics, nature/mind, body/soul, God/world, social life in change and in continuity. How can we deepen the connections between aesthetics, ethics and religion in architecture? Do we really need “less aesthetics, more ethics”? How can we understand the spirituality of space and place, and what about the spatiality of the sacred? What is the significance of built space for the experience and imaging of the God of the Here-and-Now? The authors of this book offer many-faceted contributions from architectural, artistic, philosophical and theological perspectives, as well as insights into ongoing research projects of relevance to the new interdisciplinary field. ---------- Contents: PREFACE (Sigurd Bergmann); BEAUTIFUL, TRUE AND GOOD ARCHITECTURE - An introduction (Birgit Cold); ARCHITECTURE AND RELIGION IN SECULARIZED TIMES (Eivind Kasa); PLACE IN SCULPTURE (Gunilla Bandolin); SPACE AND SPIRIT - Towards a theology of inhabitation (Sigurd Bergmann); ETHICS OR AESTHETICS IN ARCHITECTURE (Gernot Böhme); HABITABILITY AS A DEEP AESTHETIC VALUE (Pauline von Bonsdor); HOUSING SIX BILLION - A theological plea for the vernacular (Tim Gorringe); ETHICS, AESTHETICS AND URBAN WELFARE (Tom Nielsen); SEA-ING SPIRIT - Ecotheology and a coastal sense of place (Nancy M. Victorin-Vangerud); SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE (Christiane Johannsen); CLASSICISM, HISTORICISM, MODERNISM - Architectural concepts as a gateway to Norwegian cultural debate 1920-30 (Per Anders Aas); FUSING THE SACRED WITH TECHNOLOGY - The virtual basilica of St. Francis in Assisi (Daniel T. Michaels); PRAYERBALLS - Art-objects for prayer and meditation in the dialogue between Christianity and Zen-Buddhism (Grete Refsum)