Upon this rock, I will build my Church.

Since the life and death of Jesus Christ, the trajectory of human history has been drastically changed. It can be argued that Christianity has had the most influence on our history as a whole through one single religion. In turn, the development of the church has had political, religious and social influences all throughout the world especially in the west for the last 2 millenniums. In that time, the format of church spaces and architecture has also evolved, from simple house churches in the early 100-300 AD to the dominating Gothic cathedrals of the 15th century. However, currently, with formal religion’s numbers in decline, where is design for sacred spaces heading?

This thesis does not aim to address the issue of whether or not Christianity is moving in the right direction, but it does offer a design solution which tries to follow more closely to New Testament scriptures as well as bridging the gap between the sacred and secular. Aiming at sacred design for the next generation. Attempting to imagine a space within a landscape architectural context that can shred much of the added human framework and formality. The idea will challenge traditional understandings of a church and the history in which it stands. It will try to break down barriers between the current distinctly different secular and religious space. Looking at examples of both early Christian spaces and elements as well as contemporary examples of mixed spaces to create a shared sacred space within the melting pot of cultures, Istanbul.