CITY OF SPIRITS: Bringing spiritism and architecture together
Author: Rafaella Campos / Advisors: Ana Rolim and Robson Canuto
Catholic University of Pernambuco (UNICAP), Brazil
Winner of Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards program for Religious Art and Architecture, student category award.
The North American magazine Faith & Form and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA) awarded 28 religious architecture projects in 2016, classified into 10 categories. Rafaela Paes, a student from the Catholic University of Pernambuco (UNICAP), won the student category with her project "City of Spirits," guided by professors Ana Luisa Oliveira Rolim and Robson Canuto. The project aimed to adapt the facilities of the Spiritist Federation of Pernambuco to its growing public and explore the relationship between architecture and the divine.
To create the temple's atmosphere, the project focused on phenomenology, examining the interplay between human experience and space. Light was central to this approach, as defocusing our vision allows us to perceive only light and shadow, sharpening our senses and facilitating reflection. The building was designed to dematerialize as it ascended, symbolizing intellectual and moral development. Luminescent effects, such as crystal veils and atomization, were employed to accentuate this vertical evolution, culminating in a sensorial observatory at the tower's peak. This process symbolized the transformation from materialistic to spiritual, both in man and in the building itself.
The project was featured on Faith & Form magazine and Archdaily.
 The new headquarters of the Spiritist Federation of Pernambuco inserted in the cityscape |  Site, ground floor and lower level plans with reflective pool |  The floor stacking corresponds to the intellectual and moral development achieved throughout the study and the spiritualist practice |
|---|---|---|
 The dematerialization of the tower as an evolutionary vertical process: the higher, the more luminous, reflecting the spiritualistic relationship between light and matter |  View from auditorium with reflective pool and skylight in the background |  Bookshop and library on second floor as seen behind the diaphanous curtain wall |
 Spaces for social assistance are located on 5th floor |  The lounge of the classrooms dedicated to children's education on 9th floor |  Access to educational spaces for adults on 13th floor |
 Mediumistic room on 16th floor |  Living room space on 19th floor dedicated for instructors and guest speakers |  Sensorial space on 22nd floor |
 Sensorial observatory on 24th floor |  Sensorial space on top floor |  Detail of physical model |
 The project showcased on the 2016 Faith & Form International Journal on Religion Art and Architecture for winning in student category the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards program for Religious Art and Architecture |  The project showcased on the 2016 Faith & Form International Journal on Religion Art and Architecture for winning in student category the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards program for Religious Art and Architecture |  The project showcased on the 2016 Faith & Form International Journal on Religion Art and Architecture for winning in student category the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards program for Religious Art and Architecture |
 The project showcased on the 2016 Faith & Form International Journal on Religion Art and Architecture for winning in student category the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards program for Religious Art and Architecture |  The project showcased on the Faith & Form website |