Formal Manifesto
Formal Manifesto
The Commercial
religion and the religion of Commerce
Pilgrimage is ritualistic to
both the church and the shopping mall.
The ritual of the church is
defined by its liturgy and scripture.
The ritual of the mall is
defined by the brand value and its signage
The church is grand, holy, formal,
robust and expensive.
The mall is humble, unholy,
informal, flimsy and cheap.
These characteristics all
translate into the formal grandeur and or bareness of
the church mall. The new
church mall should adhere to all these contrasting ritualistic juxtapositions,
at times they would meet and at other times would part, going back to their
original conventional use in either the mall or the church. Like an embryo the
nave becomes pregnant with a multitude of shops profiles crowding its thick
embracing walls. An almost mono-complex organisation of the shops will
designate the transformation from and to the body of the church.
Itemised elements of
juxtapositions:
- Display (vitrine) - the nave’s body
should be host to the display of items of both the shopping and church
experience meet and transform,.
- Roof – should close and open at certain
instances, the use of natural vs. incandescent light would adjust the
perception of day.
- Aisle – breaks into the central nave changing
the procession and designation of space from the mall into the church and
the church into the mall. (transformative space – diluted space)
- Signage – icons representing the procession of
spaces or giving sense of direction.
- Paving (flooring) – would be treated in 2d and
3d to create certain designations.
- Parking – would cover and expose the points of
entry to the structure. Showcasing banality of the mall exterior vs. the
church interior and west wall.
