A Sense of Place: CTK

In searching for a location that has a real sense of place, I wanted to avoid picking the obvious locations that make reference to history. The easiest way to endow a location with a sense of place is to somehow connect it with the historical use of the site or to orient it within a larger historical context. Finding a place that does not use history as a primary means of establishing itself as a “place” was difficult.

One particular type of location that I believe creates a strong sense of place without needing to use history is the basilican church. The Catholic church on campus, Christ the King, is a recently constructed axial church with a length shorter than it’s width. Though it is not a typical basilican plan, it does exhibit the same features such as an axial orientation toward the altar, a triumphal arch, repetitive columns, and flanking side aisles which create the three part interior (arcade, triforium, and clerestory.) These spatial features endow the church with a clear orientation toward the altar and a formal, regimented quality.

The entire church is oriented on a north-south axis, allowing maximum sunlight to enter the clerestory near dawn and dusk. On bright summer days, the entire sanctuary can be filled with a soft, golden light that gives it a cheerful and contemplative quality. This orientation connects the interior with the natural world beyond. Perhaps unintentional, but important to note is the character that the space takes when a storm is brewing outside. Not only does the interior space lose a great deal of natural light, but the materiality of the roof transfers a slightly muffled sound of falling rain that echoes throughout the sanctuary. The interior of the church has a completely different quality of place depending on what is occurring in the natural world.

Only once the church has created its own distinct interior qualities does it make reference to the older church structure that lies adjacent. One would not notice until exiting the church that the main aisle is lined up with a row of doors on the northern side of the old church. Though the new church could stand completely on its own as a church, this historical orientation lends it additional credibility and compositional strength.