MASTERS THESIS: THE ARCHITECTURE OF NUMINOSITY

This thesis explores how architecture can act as a catalyst for self-transcendence and enlightenment, offering revelatory meaning to everyday life. It examines how architectural designers and educators can transcend their profession's boundaries to create sacred spaces in today's secular society, addressing the contemporary sacred condition of quest spirituality.

By integrating philosophical, anthropological, and theological perspectives, the thesis proposes a new methodological approach to constructing contemporary sacred spaces. Centered on Rudolf Otto’s concept of the 'Idea of the Holy,' it highlights the numinous's mysterious and profound power, alongside liminality and heterotopias, as key elements for designing transcendental architecture that conveys life's deeper meanings.

The core interest of this thesis is in designed environments that universally reflect and address the spiritual dimension of our being, exploring how places can shape, connect to, and engage with self-actualization or self-transcendence. The architectural journey culminates in a speculative retreat on Rotoroa Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf. This setting serves as a bridge from the mundane to a spiritual world, offering spaces for reflection, cleansing, meditation, and renewal through numinous interventions.