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Sacred spaces are initially thought to be conventional interiors that are defined by rituals and tradition. However, a closer consideration towards its visual language reveals meaning behind the characteristics of a space. Constructed in 1561, St. Basil’s Cathedral of Russia, designed by Postnik Yakolev and Iran Barma, raises a new way of imagining and analysing the poetics of sacred spaces. Like many sites, it is regarded as a national icon, however, the construction of the church can also be seen as a call for a new architectural language. It was a celebration of Orthodoxy in a time where the nature of political and social life was unsettled. Beyond its definitive purposes, much of its iconography holds value and meaning. Through an exploration of ornamentation in the site, the general assumptions about what constitutes a religious space can be challenged, and issues surrounding history and preservation can be revealed. Furthermore, interior qualities are able to influence the user’s experience to be a textual one. In its ambiguity, the case study of St. Basil’s Cathedral allows the viewer to make sense of its many layers and understand the fluid nature of sacred interiors in general.
It is clear that sacred interiors introduce complex notions of space that are important in retaining history. Originally used as a Christian church, St. Basil’s Cathedral is a selected exterior of the society that created it. Imitations were taken from other European churches and its Italian-inspired geometry has led to an abstraction of what viewers would previously see at the time. Author Sherin Wing has described, ‘sacred spaces are not only defined by social and political identities of those who built them but are also fluid spaces that change over time’1. This supports the notion that design has the ability to function as a language that evokes a physical or emotional response from the viewer. In turn, it also becomes a relational condition that brings both history and interiority together, an idea that the Associate Dean of Interior Design at RMIT, Suzie Attiwill, introduces in Practices of Interiorization – an inter-story. Attiwill claims that, ‘Movement, change, duration are understood as ‘the interior force’ of all things, both animate and inanimate’2, which can be found in the visual language of St. Basil’s Cathedral. Its new architectural language leads to a compositional complexity within the church, as free flowing of shapes appear in areas that are unexpected in sacred spaces. The cathedral can be seen as an inter-story, made up of an arrangement of elements. It’s through these complexities that we’re able to unpack the significance of its interior, specifically in ornamentation, typography, preservation and inhabitation. In terms of its historical significance, it also allows a ‘connection in one form or another, to the past through [an exploration of] physical remains’3.
Through its ambiguity, the cathedral can be translated as a series of spatial stories or interior dialogues. Beyond a literal depiction of culture and religion, ornamentation is also a way for viewers to engage with the qualities of space. It invites dynamism in being able to translate an interior and not ‘entertaining the idea that it is not what ‘we’ know it to be’4. Architectural theorist Marco Frascari describes, ‘buildings are texts which are generated by assembling three-dimensional mosaics of fragments, excerpts, citations, passages, and quotations,’5 which is evident in the repetition and borrowing of motifs in St. Basil’s Cathedral, which have been taken from other buildings. The overlapping of elements from floral to geometric calls for a closer consideration at how pattern assists the viewer in making sense of the built environment. Through its structure and decoration, the interior of the cathedral also responds to its function of carrying out religious practices. Philip D. Plowright in Making Architecture Through Being Human, discusses the idea of pattern being able to assist with wayfinding. Once patterns can be distinguished, we gain more of an understanding of why they’re constructed the way they are. In regards to the case study, the galleries outside of the Central Chapel (Figure 2) are decorated with floral tiles that were introduced in the 18th century. Many of the murals are inconsistent throughout the chapels, as they contrast with the geometry of the domes, or tent roofs. It could be said that by having this fragmented recognition of pattern, the viewer is able to piece together existing knowledge about sacred spaces. As Plowright suggests, ‘pattern recognition is a basic human cognitive ability that allows us to make sense of the world… by creating a configuration which we can recognise’6. In this case, the function of the space, as well as behavioural expectations can be gathered from examining the gaps in patterns. Pre-existing knowledge of churches can assist the viewer in being able to navigate the cathedral, as the back wall in Figure 2 appears to have religious figures, something that cannot be seen initially. In any interior, studying pattern or recurring imagery is a way that the viewer unconsciously makes sense of it. There is more confidence in being able to translate the patterns of sacred spaces, in order to identify what occurs there.
Furthermore, while St. Basil’s Cathedral functions as a design language, it is ultimately up to the user of the space to create closure for themselves. Plowright sheds light on how ‘the importance of pattern is that it enables us to know something we have not yet experienced’7. Like language, anything that cannot be understood is learnt by the user themselves; ‘it is a human instinct’. From another perspective, it could be said that pattern is merely a visual that a viewer cannot comprehend unless they inhabit the space. The murals in the galleries such as in Figure 2 can be experienced, therefore being known as ‘event patterns [which] describe what the formal composition does in its context rather than its physical composition.’8 Whether they can be felt or not, patterns exist for the purpose of being able to understand our environment more clearly. In this way, sacred spaces are inherently linked to the way that a text can be deciphered or read.
Additionally, an analysis of the poetics of sacred interiors requires a deeper understanding of the effects of colour in social sciences, rather than just the natural sciences. Modern readings of colour suggest that it’s linked to symbolism. However, upon further consideration, colour is also a performative construct that is evident in St. Basil’s Cathedral. It has the ability to trigger a response from viewers and in turn, these sensory experiences of colour produce interiority, as explored in Towards a Definition of Interiority by Christine McCarthy. It could be said that sacred interiors are therefore conditions, alongside their textual qualities, as it invites mental exploration, allowing viewers to feel something. St. Basil’s Cathedral (Figure 3) features a distinct use of colour that intersect in both controlled and repeated manners, which reflects Chris Horrocks’ notion in Cultures of
Colour that ‘colour functions in language not simply as symbolic constructions but as constructing acts’9. Perhaps colour in the cathedral has been used as a way of challenging the serious connotations of sacred spaces, through the inclusion of opposing colours that come together as both regular and unorganised. It becomes a ‘cryptic language that [defines] the possibilities of visual communication’10. As mentioned by Horrocks, there is more to colour beyond it being a visual sensation. The translation of spaces reveal more than the physical qualities and it can begin to contribute to a textual experience.
Furthermore, typography is another form of ornamentation, however, it is also a device used to instil authority and control. When thinking of scripture, it is easier to imagine it in its material form, however, scripture ‘occupies space, evolves in space and is virtually bound to the concept of space’11. In the same way that ornamentation and colour contribute to the language of an interior, the use of text can also be felt by a user of the space. Tobias Frese introduces the notion that ‘scripture has always possessed the ability to separate and determine its quality’12, meaning it has the power to sacralise a space, as scripture is highly valued within culture and religion. St. Basil’s Cathedral feature inscriptions (Figure 4) as a way to ‘underline and strengthen the architectural skin’ of its building ‘but also ascribe[s] a transcendent meaning to its material’13. While it isn’t legible for the viewer, it can generally be defined as a space that is respected. However, as the writing sits on the surface, it juxtaposes earlier notions of interiors being relational conditions, as text can eventually be wiped off.
Perhaps it is then a transient space in which forgotten moments become more poetic than its design features.Lois Weinthal discusses interiors being ‘composed of objects, colour, light, and people’14 upon first glance. However, in regards to the cathedral, it is perhaps the layers that make up its architecture and the traces that people leave behind that lead to a more poetic experience. It is therefore not so much the physical ornamentation. Similarly to McCarthy, Weinthal believes that ‘the interior begins with the elements that are closest to the body’15. From a different perspective, language is also what allows history and culture to be preserved. If visible inscriptions were to disappear within the cathedral, its language is present in the imagery and pattern, as long as we’re ‘receiving and understanding something and keeping it alive’16.
With these aspects of design in mind, textual interiors can be examined more thoughtfully in relation to history. The free flowing nature of colour and shapes are representations of the past that are necessary in providing ‘a connection between our sense of who we are and our place within society’s culture and identity’17. In regards to St. Basil’s Cathedral, its design makes up its ‘unique identity’18 and perhaps the reason why colour has remained unchanged is due to the need to retain knowledge about the past, in order to create new environments that don’t replicate earlier developments. Beyond the site functioning as a sacred space, its ornamentation is also a way for the viewer to get a glimpse of the past and as stated by Kopec, ‘humans experience a connection, in one form or another, to the past through physical remains.’19 Unfortunately, there is an ongoing issue with the preservation of ornamental buildings, as they are considered to be of little importance and ‘the influences that threaten preservation efforts in Russian architecture today were present as far back as the 16th century’20. Many people associate historical buildings with negative memories of the past and communist society. However, from a modern perspective, St. Basil’s Cathedral consists of abstractions, perhaps as a more subtle way of hiding ideological imagery, whilst preserving it at the same time.
Upon further consideration, perhaps what defines an interior as being sacred isn’t an iconographic building itself, but the fact that it is left alone. Inhabitation produces interiority and the cathedral can be explored as a set of constructs that are defined by the people who use the space. Reek discusses the idea of ‘Church [as] community’21 which provides the implication that humans have the power to sacralise spaces, through their behavioural patterns. In comparison, Weinthal sees the relationship of an interior’s setting and peoples’ actions as inherently connected. Perhaps the similarity is that the poetics of space isn’t created by architecture itself. Rather, it is through the users and their intangible experiences. This part of the exploration on St. Basil’s Cathedral remains unclear, as it’s linked with other inhabitants such as ‘janitors and maintenance workers [who] intimately know interiors in ways that the architect and interior designer never experience’22.
As users, there’s an appreciation for interiors such as sacred spaces and there is sense in learning about the multi-sensory experiences of other people. However, some questions remain unclear. History and understandings of space perhaps lie with the people who maintain them. As mentioned by Weinthal, ‘Experiencing a work of art is a private dialogue between the work and the viewer that excludes other interactions’23. The example of the shadows created by movement and people’s footsteps in the corridors is a way that interiority can be produced through touch. In relation to what constitutes a textual interior, there is still a tactility in being able to see it through imagery.
Through an exploration of intangible elements of space, we’re able to extend what we know a sacred interior to be, by looking beyond the definitive or objective properties. Buildings are not just considered as religious places; the fact that the cathedral is now a museum means that it’s regarded as art, a monument and a symbol for its time. Through typography, a spatial awareness can also be maintained for future generations. While an initial interpretation may be that sacred spaces appear to be fixed interiors, it is evident that they change over time, as societal values do. While the design decisions of the cathedral were made long ago, the answer to whether its sacredness has been defined by architects, designers or by the user themselves has altered. Many theorists agree that what has kept it alive is due to society’s need to preserve history and the expectations of church behaviour.
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