Water as the primary symbol of the sacred communication in the area of habitation architecture Cover Image

Woda jako pramateria współczesnej architektury znaczeniowej w przestrzeni zamieszkiwania
Water as the primary symbol of the sacred communication in the area of habitation architecture

Author(s): Anna Maria Wierzbicka, Marek Pabich
Subject(s): Architecture
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: water as symbolic; semantic narrative; places of remembrance; sacred objects; habitation architecture

Summary/Abstract: In this article, we will show the diversity of architectonic solutions that include water in the permanent structure of the object, which offers its prominent material and symbolic role. The method used for this research is the inquiry and the analysis of contemporary sacral things in which water plays the role of prima materiel. The research will use the author's narrative method to analysed the architecture of meaning. This study of the architectonic piece will be led through five deliberate and narrative aspects, exploring the author's intention – location, creation date, and narration, among others -project ideas. After a previous search, the project was selected as an example of meaningful objects. The objects are divided into four groups of signifiers: artificial landscape, ecological stream, memory space, and axiomatic medium. The research aimed to show that water as crematoria in meaningful objects does not only have a functional role, it also has a symbolic meaning. The current state of knowledge indicates that, at present, there are no scientific publications that analyse 'water' as an element of parametria. The water in architecture usually is analysed in practical and technical aspects; the semantic part of the project is generally excluded. The question will be studied using projects or finished objects in contemporary sacral architecture.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 42
  • Page Range: 33-49
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: English