In many South African houses paintings with a similar theme may be seen: a small cottage on the side of a valley (usually with a stream flowing through it) surrounded by mountains.According to dr Jay Appleton's theory, this recurrent theme in the aesthetic realm reflects modern man's primitive need for refuge (safety) and prospect (opportunity).
Our intention is to provide that for (burnt-out) missionaries and community workers by rebuilding and adapting the (burnt-out) 1930 farm house and using it as a place of refuge, a (non-commercial) guest house and healing place.
In this way the restored house (and the gardens around it) becomes both the actual space and a powerful symbol for physical and spiritual restoration - and the rediscovering of new prospects.
This is an exciting project! Lots of ideas and references came to mind as I read through your posts here. References: One, Mustard Seed Associates, based in Washington state, is on the cusp of starting their "Mustard Seed Village" which is all about Christian community, learning, and sustainability. They worked with a local architect to develop the site and building designs.
ReplyDeleteTwo, the Community of Taize, France: This started with Brother Roger moving to Taize around 1940, buying a group of buildings and making them into a hospitality house for refugees from WWII. Later he and his new community accepted orphans as well. Today, thousands visit for worship each week.
So those are some examples to google and be inspired by as you move forward. I love the idea of making a spiritual oasis, a sanctuary, and that the revitalization of (breathing life back into) the buildings would be a symbol for the revitalization of people who visit. I also like the safety-opportunity concept you have - sort of a harmony of opposites, a yin-yang, very similar to rootedness and freedom coexisting (symbolized by a tree). Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are a good expression of this - the hearth was a place of warmth and stasis at the center, while the rest of the spaces pinwheeled out from the hearth far out into the landscape.
This makes me as a designer start to consider what the architectural expression of your safety/opportunity concept might be. I think of buildings that are solid and sustainable, but also provide the occupant with nearly endless views of, and access to, the surrounding land and sky, and people. How does the building help you see the world better? Where does it allow you to go? Can you occupy the roof, lay down and have the expanse of the night sky before you? Can you then go back to a small warm nook to read alone in silence?
This seems to reveal the design challenge you have - how to make truly inspiring, freeing places out of the existing buildings. How far are you willing to go in changing these structures? If the main goal is not preservation of the existing but inspiration/rejuvenation of people, then I think you have to be very open to dramatic changes to these structures.
Well, there are some initial thoughts anyway.. I look forward to keeping up with this project as it progresses! "God-speed as you build the sanctuary for your God, the job he has given you." (1 Chr. 22:11)