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A Hermeneutic Approach to Byzantine Architecture Ana Botez 2011

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A Hermeneutic Approach to Byzantine Architecture Ana Botez 2011 Rich Materiality A Hermeneutic Approach to Byzantine Architecture Ana Botez 2011 B.Arch., University of Architecture and Urbanism ―Ion Mincu,‖ Bucharest, Romania, 2000 M.S. Arch., program ―Anthropology of Sacred Space‖, University of Architecture and Urbanism ―Ion Mincu,‖ Bucharest, Romania, 2003 A thesis submitted to the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Architecture In the School of Architecture and Interior Design Of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Committee Chair: John E. Hancock, M.Arch. Committee Member: Nnamdi Elleh, Ph.D. Abstract In my thesis, I will look at Byzantine architecture in order to throw light on the issue of building new Orthodox Christian churches. I will introduce specific terms such as Orthodoxy, Tradition, Byzantine (the place of Byzantine art and architecture in Orthodox Christianity), hermeneutics, as well as the reasons why a fresh approach to Orthodox Christian church design is necessary. Romanian artist Horia Bernea proposed ―rich materiality‖ as a quality of Byzantine architecture that architects of our time would tend to overlook, and contrasted it with the ―dry materiality‖ of most of the contemporary built environment. Bernea‘s use of the term materiality for describing architecture meets, without matching completely, the preoccupations of contemporary architects and theorists such as Kenneth Frampton, Richard Weston, or Michael Benedikt. For Weston, materiality is an emphasis on what materials are, as opposed to what they can do, structurally. For Benedikt, materiality is the quality of things material, perceptible by senses, but also the ability of natural materials to tell the story of their origin and making. Frampton is primarily concerned with tectonics as the poetics of construction, but some of the concepts he explores (tectonic and atectonic, core form and art form, experiencing architecture with the whole body as opposed to a merely visual experience) are useful for understanding Byzantine architecture and its materiality. Specific to Bernea‘s approach is his emphasis on the spirituality and worldview that shapes any particular architecture, making its materiality rich or dry. Therefore, the incompatibility between traditional church architecture and the professional culture of contemporary architects is based on the incompatibility of two conflicting worldviews; the conflict cannot be surpassed without a thoughtful hermeneutic approach. ii iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Augustin Ioan for the suggestion of researching materiality as the quality of Byzantine architecture that contemporary church architecture fails to embody, as well as for the suggestion of continuing my studies at the University of Cincinnati. I would like to thank Professor John E. Hancock for the priceless help and encouragement he has provided along this endeavor, including some of the most important reading recommendations. I would also like to thank Professors Jim Bradford, David Saile, Nnamdi Elleh, and Patrick Snadon, for their help and suggestions. I would like to thank Ellen Guerrettaz for her invaluable help and for not letting me give up. I would not be here today without Professor Sanda Voiculescu (may she rest in peace; may her memory be eternal), who first taught me about the beauty of Byzantine architecture, without Professor Mihai Opreanu, under the supervision of whom I worked on several restoration projects of historical churches and a couple of new church designs, and without my teachers and colleagues from the ―Anthropology of Sacred Space‖ master program. I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues from Cincinnati and Bucharest who have been patient enough to listen to or read my ideas before they were fully organized, as well as those who have been helpful and kind to me when I was in a foreign country. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my parents, who helped me and supported me in many ways, allowing me to complete my research. iv List of Illustrations 1. Church of the Martyrs of the Revolution, Bucharest, 1993-2003, architects N. Diaconu and N. Popescu-Greaca. Image found online at http://www.bisericaeroilor.ro/biserica.htm accessed on 08/01/2011. 2. Patriarchal Cathedral model, 1st phase competition entry, 2002, architects Augustin Ioan, Tudor Rebengiuc, Viorica Popescu. Image found online at http://byzantinearch.blogspot.com/2009/09/peoples-salvation-cathedral- design_16.html accessed on 08/01/2011. 3. Patriarchal Cathedral virtual model, 2nd phase competition entry, architects Augustin Ioan, Tudor Rebengiuc, and Viorica Popescu. Image found online at http://byzantinearch.blogspot.com/2009/09/peoples-salvation-cathedral- design_16.html accessed on 08/01/2011. 4. Church of Cozia Monastery, 14th century. Image found online at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2006_0610CoziaExterior20565.JPG accessed on 08/01/2011. 5. Church of Hurezi Monastery, late 17th century. Author‘s photograph. 6. Church of Voroneţ Monastery, late 15th century, exterior frescoes from mid-16th century. Image found online at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voronet_Intrare.JPG accessed on 08/01/2011. 7. St. Spyridon ―New‖, Bucharest, 19th century. Image found online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sf._Spiridon_cel_Nou.JPG accessed on 08/01/2011. 8. Alba-Iulia Cathedral, 1921-1922. Author‘s photograph. v 9. Monastery ―Râpa Robilor‖, Aiud, design proposed by architect Radu Mihăilescu, 2010. Image found online at http://www.anualadearhitectura.ro/proiecte/30 accessed on 08/11/2011. 10. Patriarchal Cathedral, Bucharest, winning entry of the 2009 competition, currently under construction. Image found online at http://byzantinearch.blogspot.com/2010/01/catedrala-mantuirii-neamului- proiectul.html accessed on 08/11/2011. 11. Church of Petru Vodă Monastery, 1991. Author‘s photograph. 12. Arbore Monastery church, 16th century. Detail of Last Judgment on western façade. Image found online at http://www.users.cloud9.net/~romania/Churches/arbore/Last_judgment_--detail.html accessed on 08/11/2011. 13. Theotokos Hodegetria, 16th century, Wallachian workshop, National Art Museum of Romania. Image found online at http://www.mnar.arts.ro/Arta-veche-romaneasca/s- 1/p-3 accessed on 08/11/2011. vi Thesis Outline I. Introduction 1. The fundamental question: how to build Orthodox Christian churches today? 2. Key concepts a) Orthodoxy b) Tradition c) Byzantine d) Hermeneutics i. Gadamer and the cultural horizons ii. Exegesis in Orthodox Christianity 3. Church architecture in Romania: a brief survey a) Post-Byzantine b) Westernization c) Search for national identity d) Communist persecution e) Post-communist searches i. The ―quarrel‖ of clergy and architects ii. The functionalist approach iii. The precedents-based approach iv. The geometrical-symbolic approach v. The imitative approach vii 4. A possible approach in the spirit of Tradition a) Tradition (with a capital T) and traditions b) Picking bits of tradition(s) versus immersion in Tradition c) Appropriating Tradition through conversion and/or the broadening of cultural horizons (Gadamer) d) Understanding how the culture of Orthodoxy and the professional culture of architects may be at variance 5. Why Byzantium? a) The most consistent cultural expression of the Orthodox Tradition b) Survival of Byzantine culture in the Orthodox Christian countries of Eastern Europe and the Near East c) The fundamental assumption: we can use Orthodox Tradition today to interpret Orthodox Christian architecture of the Byzantine age 6. Why ―rich materiality‖? a) Introducing late Romanian artist Horia Bernea b) Introducing Bernea‘s concept of ―materiality‖ c) The growing interest in materiality and related concepts in architectural theory today II. The Material Aspects of Architecture in Contemporary Literature 1. Kenneth Frampton and the tectonic a) Defining the tectonic: Etymology viii b) Building the place: Topography c) Building for the body: Corporeal metaphor d) Building with spiritual meaning: Ethnography e) Representational versus Ontological f) Tectonic and atectonic g) Heidegger‘s phenomenological approach: Technology h) Tradition and innovation 2. Richard Weston‘s survey of material and form in architecture a) Materials and form b) In the nature of materials c) Place d) Time e) Use f) Junctions g) Surfaces h) Meaning i) Materiality and translucency j) Conclusion 3. Michael Benedikt and the ―architecture of reality‖ a) Presence b) Significance c) Emptiness d) Materiality ix 4. A brief conclusion III. Bernea‘s ―Rich Materiality‖ 1. Matter as material symbol of spiritual realities 2. Introducing Roma Caput Mundi a) The first discussion on materiality in Roma Caput Mundi b) The second discussion on materiality in Roma Caput Mundi c) The third discussion on materiality in Roma Caput Mundi 3. A conclusion IV. The Root of the Issue: An Incompatibility of Worldviews Leading to an Incompatibility of Architectural Expressions? x I. Introduction 1. The fundamental question: how to build Orthodox Christian churches today? After the fall of its Communist regime in 1989, the newly re-conquered freedom of religion found Romania with an acute shortage of places of worship, since for about forty-five years all new urban developments had been built without the 1. Church of the Martyrs of the slightest concern for this matter, and many existing Revolution, Bucharest, 1993-2003, architects N. Diaconu and N. Popescu-Greaca. churches were demolished. It would soon become
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