June 19, 2019December 18, 2019

Temples as Text: The Swinging Pendulum of Shifting Ritual-Architectural Priorities

Earlier this month I was privileged to present the following peer-reviewed paper titled “Temples as Text: The Swinging Pendulum of Shifting Ritual-Architectural Priorities” during the 54th Annual Mormon Historical Association Conference in Salt Lake City on June 8, 2019. ABSTRACT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to grow beyond its headquarters in […]
June 19, 2019December 18, 2019

The Hermeneutics of Gendered Sacred Space: Multivalent Perspectives from the Christian Tradition

I was privileged to present the following blind peer-reviewed paper titled “The Hermeneutics of Gendered Sacred Space: Multivalent Perspectives from the Christian Tradition” during the 11th Architecture Culture Spirituality Symposium at Taliesin West in Arizona on May 18, 2019. ABSTRACT: One social construct that is sometimes overlooked in the study of sacred architecture involves how […]
March 8, 2019December 18, 2019

Philosophy on Design and Teaching Architecture

STATEMENT ON TEACHING PHILOSOPHY As both an architect and teacher, I am a believer of Winston Churchill’s saying “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” My goal as an educator is to awaken within my students the reality of this ethical situation and promote an existential awareness of their surroundings. It is particularly […]
February 10, 2019December 18, 2019

Thinking with our Hands, Drawing with our Minds: Preserving the Embodied Wisdom of Sketching and Drawing

There is embodied wisdom in sketching and drawing. The architect’s ability to think with their hands and draw in their minds has become a powerful tool for imagining the spaces of tomorrow. From neurological and haptic connections between the eyes, mind, and hand to serving as a mnemonic device to improve our recollection, the creative […]
April 17, 2018December 18, 2019

Understanding the Impact of School Design on Academic Performance

Understanding the impact of school design on academic performance is critical for educators and designers. How one goes about evaluating the quality of a learning environment is a fundamental aspect for studies seeking to understand the value of architectural design and its functional performance on educational outcomes. Surveys are one means to address this challenge. […]
September 2, 2016December 18, 2019

Templum Dei: Exploring the Language of Sacred Architecture

Any study in search of the language of sacred architecture will eventually come to focus its attention on the temple. In fact, the building typology most often referred to by comparative historians of religion and sacred architecture is the temple. Templum Dei, Latin for Temple of God, is a fitting title for an exploration of sacred architecture; […]
January 15, 2016December 18, 2019

Understanding Extraordinary Architectural Experiences through Content Analysis of Written Narratives

Sir. Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” Architecture has the power to positively affect human beings. Survey research is revealing how certain buildings can transform our understanding of the world, since they affect the human experience on sociological, physiological, metaphysical, neurological, psychological, spiritual, and pedagogical levels. But what makes the experience of a building […]
June 24, 2015December 18, 2019

Sacred Time as One Eternal Round: Understanding the Chiastic Pattern of Temple, Cosmos, History

What does temple architecture, the revolutions of the cosmos, and the narrative of sacred history have in common? It is the cyclical nature of sacred time which is embodied in the phrase “God’s course is one eternal round.” I was privileged to present the following blind peer-reviewed paper titled “Sacred Time as One Eternal Round: Understanding […]