Architecture & faith : creating space for the sacred experience

Worshipers of a religion have a need to connect with their deity within the chaos of the world. Buildings provide a place of worship in which worshipers can escape business, the everyday, stress, pain, noise, and loss sense of identity while turning it in to peace, control, harmony, strength, and happiness. How can the design of a worship space aid in having a sacred experience? There are architectural elements that will help in the design of a place of worship; organization, procession, volume, proportions, manifestation of the sacred, light, materials, connections to contextand symbolism.Church, for many people, is a place to retreat from the everyday world to worship their God. Where is the everyday world more profane than in a chaotic urban setting? This is why the selected site is in Chicago's downtown, where the challenge of finding and creating a sacred oasis within the hustle and bustle is very difficult. There are many people in downtown, but not many churches in relation to the number of people. This will be of Presbyterian denomination, more specifically a part of The Presbyterian Church in America IP.C.A.1. The building is designed with the values and beliefs of the worshipers in mind. It is also designed in response to the context and society of downtown Chicago. However, the chief objective was to explore how architecture can generate a sacred experience.College of Architecture and PlanningThesis (B. Arch.