Awake

Nooks, crannies, and scalloped walls

I started reading this book on church architecture today and after reading a few pages, I flipped to the back of the book to look for drawings and floor plans. I saw this drawing and it immediately resonated with me because we're in the midst of envisioning a "sacred space" for corporate worship that is inclusive and participatory and allows for varied forms of worship. I felt that this layout had some potential for providing what we're referring to as "alcove spaces" that might accommodate some of these various forms (that is, beyond a band, a sound board, and worship aerobics).

One of the things I like about this layout is the scalloped walls. On the building committee and with the architects, we've been talking about the idea of alcoves, nooks, and crannies, kinds of secret hiding places for prayer, worship, drawing, painting, conversation in the midst of big church worship...and places for these same kinds of activities throughout the week, unscheduled, unprogrammed, unrehearsed.

Found in the book Liturgy and Architecture by Peter Hammond (Columbia University Press, New York, 1961.