Sacred place-making: The presence and quality of archetypal design principles in sacred place

Abstract

The World Health Organization and a growing number of health-care professionals, and the public equate good health not merely to the absence of disease, but also to the presence of positive well-being. The traditional biomedical model of health has given way to the biopsychosocial mode, which advocates a greater holistic approach towards health, considering not only our biological, but also our social, psychological, physiological and spiritual health. The places we inhabit have the potential of contributing significantly to our health and well-being. Desacralization of place has made it increasingly difficult for modern societies to rediscover existential dimensions of the sacred that were once readily accessible to humans of archaic societies in everyday place. How can phenomenological differences between sacred and secular place be understood? What are the contributing factors? Can they be objectified? Through time, the importance of archetypal principles in sacred place have been underappreciated and misunderstood. These principles not only express timeless design values, but also higher intensions. When embodied and uplifted they contribute significantly to making place memorable and extraordinary. Our purpose is to explore phenomenological differences in the presence and quality of specific archetypal principles that recur in sacred place. Using qualitative and quantitative data, differences in the presence and quality of design principles between sacred and secular place are explored. A “Place-making Design Principle Matrix” is conceptualized. The chapter contributes to the development of the theory of place-making and fosters a renewed interest in the phenomenology of sacred place.