A Sacred Atmosphere
Author
Andersen, Andrea Krogh
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-28
Abstract
This thesis investigates how a contemporary church in Rebild Bakker can be designed as a sensory and atmospheric space that supports contemplation, spirituality, and human connection through its relationship with nature. Recognising that the Danish church increasingly serves as a framework for reflection, community, and spiritual care within a secular and stressed society, the project explores how architecture can foster emotional and existential wellbeing without relying on traditional religious symbolism. The central research question asks how a church in Rebild Bakker can create an atmospheric and sensory experience that strengthens individual reflection and collective community, while offering spiritual support in times of grief, vulnerability, and life-changing transitions. Methodologically, the thesis adopts an iterative design process in which theory, empirical investigations, site and environmental analyses, user insights, and spatial experiments continuously inform one another. Through studies of light, materiality, acoustics, topography, and microclimate, as well as references to existing churches, a design proposal is developed that places the church in close dialogue with the landscape and includes the sacred church space, a woodland chapel, and informal meeting places. The work culminates in an architectural concept that seeks to allow a sense of sacredness to emerge from spatial experience, silence, and light, positioning the project between church, sanctuary, and spiritual refuge. As the thesis focuses on design development, it does not present empirical evaluation of the church’s actual effects in use.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en nutidig kirke i Rebild Bakker kan udformes som et sanseligt og atmosfærefyldt rum, der understøtter fordybelse, spiritualitet og menneskelig forbindelse gennem naturen. Med udgangspunkt i en erkendelse af, at den danske folkekirke i stigende grad fungerer som ramme for refleksion, fællesskab og sjælelig omsorg i et sekulariseret og stresset samfund, udforsker projektet, hvordan arkitektur kan bidrage til følelsesmæssigt og eksistentielt velbefindende uden at basere sig på traditionelle religiøse symboler. Problemformuleringen fokuserer på, hvordan en kirke i Rebild Bakker kan skabe en atmosfære og sanselig oplevelse, der styrker både individuel eftertanke og kollektivt fællesskab, samt tilbyder spirituel støtte i perioder med sorg, sårbarhed og livsforandrende overgange. Metodisk anvendes en iterativ designproces, hvor teori, empiriske studier, sted- og naturanalyser, brugerkendskab og rumlige eksperimenter løbende informerer hinanden. Gennem undersøgelser af lys, materialitet, akustik, topografi og mikroklima samt studier af eksisterende kirker udvikles et designforslag, der placerer kirken i tæt relation til landskabet og inkluderer både det sakrale kirkerum, en skovkapel og uformelle mødesteder. Specialet munder ud i en arkitektonisk helhed, der søger at lade det hellige opstå gennem rumlig oplevelse, stilhed og lys og dermed positionerer projektet i spændingsfeltet mellem kirke, fristed og åndeligt omsorgsrum. Da specialet kun omfatter et designforslag, præsenteres ingen empirisk evaluering af kirkens faktiske virkning.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]
Keywords