Virginia Conference on Sacred Space
July 19, 2008
William Robson, an architect in Chantilly, Virginia and chairman of the Virginia Chapter of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA) sent a message today announcing a day-long presentation called The Nature of Sacred Space: Secular and Sacred. The event will be Friday, November 14, 2008 at the Richmond, Virginia Convention Center, as a part of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects’ state conference.
Speakers include Craig Hartman, FAIA, architect and partner with Skidmore Owing and Merrill (SOM), discussing the new Oakland, CA, Cathedral and Rex Miller, author of The Millenium Matrix, a student of church trends in contemporary culture.
What participants may not know is that the Virginia IFRAA is the first fruit of a lot of work by Robson and his colleagues across Virginia toward a goal of activating discussion of architecture’s role in ministry. They have in mind a multi-year effort, of which this is the first.
As this is announced, architects in the South Atlantic Region of the AIA (Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina) are moving toward establishing a similar group – under the name of Architecture for Ministry (A Knowledge Community of the AIA). We expect to announce some similar learning opportunities in 2009.
I encourage anyone interested in this conversation to consider seriously participating in the Virginia sessions this November.
Ron Geyer is an architect in Greenville, SC who helps churches – new and old – make smart decisions about all of the buildings and spaces they inhabit and use in ministry.