Attending the service at Christ
Church Cathedral was exactly what I had expected to experience. I walked in and
the open doors made it clear as to where I was to go. I was greeted and was
welcomed in as I found a place to sit. The pews were lined up straight leading
to the front of the sanctuary, the grand chandeliers hanging gave serene
artificial lighting, and the people followed their usual religious routine that
was conducted in the space. It was clear where the front of the church was
because of the aisles leading there, the four windows side by side, the choir
sat up there, and the speaking came from the front of the church near the grand
design. Many people went directly to,
what seemed to be, a mentally designated spot for them to sit and they greeted
those around them. Many spoke of the baptisms that took place the week before,
smiled as a child sang in the choir, and watched as friends walked up and down
the aisles to get seated. The people looked excited to come to a big cathedral
for worship and to see friends and some came from another room in the church
which was labeled for the appropriate Bible study room. The stained glass
windows showed a beautiful pattern of color to add to the otherwise neutral
space. The array of materials used, wooden pews, stone walls, glass windows,
and dark and light contrasts provided a space which felt simple but elegant. To
add to the grand and important feel, geometrically arched shapes were placed in
many places of the church: the aisle markers, the ceiling designs, the shaped
windows and more. Proxemics became a factor in the space. Both personal and
social sections were seen in the church. The close three-person pews gave a
personal feel to who you were sitting by but the space between the pews and the
aisles gave a more social feel: you were close enough to speak to one another
but there was enough space for other stuff to go on between.
The dance concert, Shaping Space, was a product of hard
work and dedication. The stage was simple and dark, the music was minimal but
yet almost suspenseful, and the dancers were intriguing. There were many there
to see the dance concert. Friends, family, other dancers in the program and
some there just to support and watch. People brought flowers, I assume to
family members and friends who performed for the night. All those in the
audience were respectful in interested in the dancers next move and when they
danced a calm came over the audience. They were quiet in times of focus and
clapped in times where it was necessary. The theatre was small and dark. The
darkness around the stage and audience forced an audience member to focus only
on the stage. All you could see were the dancer’s simple movements. The seats
in the theatre were close together so many people could fit in it once. People
talked to those around them about what they had thought of the previous dance
and what they expected from the next routine.
A similarity in the two spaces is that
the design oriented how a person would behave. When walking into the environment,
the people knew exactly what was expected of them and it was clear what was to
be done next. Signs directing one to the sanctuary and labels on the chairs in
the theatre advised the people. The stained glass windows and the dark space
around worked in the same way. They worked to keep the audience’s focus on the
dancers and speakers. A difference in the space would be that one used darkness
to keep focus while the other place, the church, used artificial and natural
light to make the space feel big and grand. Both spaces provided a unique but
certain experience for the people: to worship, gather, religious reasons or to
enjoy a dance concert.
