The Nature of Sacred Space

November 14, 2008 
Richmond Convention Center
Richmond, VA


Web site: http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/archex_index.jsp

The Interfaith Forum on religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA), a knowledge community of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects (VSAIA) is pleased to announce that they will present the first of several annual presentations exploring The Nature of Sacred Space. These presentations will examine various aspects of religous architecture as well as the interplay between the designed envirnment and worship.

The first annual presentation will occur on Friday, November 14, 2008 as a part of Architecture Exchange East, VSAIA's annual conference, held at the Richmond Convention Center in richmond, Virginia. Members of public, clergy and architects are invited to this landmark event.

The November 2008 presentation, The Nature of Sacred Space, Secular and Sacred will examine design trends (past, present and future) faith community and the assocaited role of architecture.


The Virginia IFRAA schedule for Friday, November 14, 2008 is as follows:

7:00 a.m. Registration/check-in opens at Convention Center

7:15 a.m. Transportation (bus) from Convention Center to The Cathedral of The Sacred Heart
Clergy and public should check in at the Convention Center prior to the Prayer Breakfast if possible

7:30 a.m. Prayer Breakfast (pre-registration required)
Continental breakfast at the Joel House at Beth Ahabah, opening comments by IFRAA and presentation by Rev. Buddy Childress

8:30 a.m. Walking Tour
Following breakfast, Mr. James DePasquale, AIA will lead a walking tour of two of Richmond¡¦s notable examples of religious architecture, The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and Congregation Beth Ahabah Temple

9:45 a.m. Transportation (bus) from Cathedral of the Sacred Heart to Convention Center.

10:15 a.m. Understanding the Horizon
At no other time in history has the church experienced such dramatic changes in the interplay between the act of celebrating faith and the architecture that supports it. This session will explore the bookends of today¡¦s religious architecture and look towards what the future might bring. How does architecture support worship in both secular and more traditional forms of worship environments. Mr. William Robson AIA will moderate the presentations for this session provided by two notable scholars.

Rex Miller (author of The Millennium Matrix) will present trends such as the seeker oriented church, third place and the future of worship without architecture as related to the advent of the computer internet and the virtual church.

Louis Nelson (Associate Professor of Architectural History, University of Virginia) will present traditional worship environments in both the original and rediscovered forms. His examination will focus on contributing factors of traditional worship environments.

11:45 a.m. Lunch in the exhibit hall (included)
Artisans will display their products and examples of Virginia religious architecture will be on display.

2:15 p.m. The Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA
This project has been proclaimed ¡§the modern cathedral¡¨ by Architect magazine (see February 2008 edition). Mr. Craig Hartman FAIA, architect and partner with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) will present the design factors and aspects of this project, noting the design goal to ¡§create a place that could inspire wonder¡¨.

4:30 Secular and Sacred
Miller, Nelson and Hartman will discuss the relationship between faith, form and function as it relates to religious architecture. A summary of the day¡¦s presentations will form the foundation for the panel questions. Questions from audience are paramount to this intellectual quest and discourse on the Nature of Sacred Space.

Architecture Exchange East will occur from November 12 -14, 2008. Access registration information on line at http://www.archex.net