The Return of Sacred Architecture : The Golden Ratio and the End of Modernism

Intro; Title Page; Dedication; Acknowledgments; Contents; Foreword by John Anthony West; 1. Introduction: A Radical Revelation; 2. The Scientific Architecture of the Twentieth Century; The Architectural Revolution; The Wasteland; The Architecture of Alienation; 3. Making The Modern Architect; The Failure of the Schools; The Plight of the Practicing Architect; 4. The Materialist Paradigm; A New Model of the Cosmos; Nihilism, Despair, and the Decline of the Arts; 5. The Return of the Spirit; The "Other Tradition"; The New Physics; The Mystical Vision; 6. Intuition and the Creative Mind;An inspirational call for a return to the tenets of traditional architecture as a remedy for the dehumanizing standards of modern architecture - Explains how modern architecture is emblematic of our current estrangement from the spiritual principles that shaped humanity's greatest civilizations - Reveals how the ancient laws of sacred proportion and harmony can be restored The ugly buildings that characterize the modern landscape are inferior not only to the great cathedrals of medieval Europe and the temples of ancient Egypt and Greece, but even to lesser buildings of the more recent past. The great masterworks of our ancestors spoke to humanity's higher nature. Architect Herbert Bangs reveals how today's dysfunctional buildings bring out the worst in humanity, reinforcing that which is most base within us. He shows how, through the ancient laws of proportion and number, architecture once expressed the harmonious relationship between man and the cosmos. In early times, the architect worked within a sacred and esoteric tradition of creating structures through which human beings could gain insight into the nature of the divine reality. Today, that tradition has been abandoned in favor of narrowly defined utilitarian principles of efficiency and economy. In The Return of Sacred Architecture, Bangs provides the key to freeing architecture from the crude functionality of the twentieth century: the architects of the modern human landscape must find the deep-felt connection to the cosmos that guided the inner lives of those who built the temples of the past. The form of their buildings will then reflect the sacred patterns of geometry and proportion and bring forth greater harmony in the world.

An inspirational call for a return to the tenets of traditional architecture as a remedy for the dehumanizing standards of modern architecture

• Explains how modern architecture is emblematic of our current estrangement from the spiritual principles that shaped humanity’s greatest civilizations

• Reveals how the ancient laws of sacred proportion and harmony can be restored

The ugly buildings that characterize the modern landscape are inferior not only to the great cathedrals of medieval Europe and the temples of ancient Egypt and Greece, but even to lesser buildings of the more recent past. The great masterworks of our ancestors spoke to humanity’s higher nature. Architect Herbert Bangs reveals how today’s dysfunctional buildings bring out the worst in humanity, reinforcing that which is most base within us. He shows how, through the ancient laws of proportion and number, architecture once expressed the harmonious relationship between man and the cosmos. In early times, the architect worked within a sacred and esoteric tradition of creating structures through which human beings could gain insight into the nature of the divine reality. Today, that tradition has been abandoned in favor of narrowly defined utilitarian principles of efficiency and economy.

In The Return of Sacred Architecture, Bangs provides the key to freeing architecture from the crude functionality of the twentieth century: the architects of the modern human landscape must find the deep-felt connection to the cosmos that guided the inner lives of those who built the temples of the past. The form of their buildings will then reflect the sacred patterns of geometry and proportion and bring forth greater harmony in the world.

Intro Title Page Dedication Acknowledgments Contents Foreword by John Anthony West 1. Introduction: A Radical Revelation 2. The Scientific Architecture of the Twentieth Century The Architectural Revolution The Wasteland The Architecture of Alienation 3. Making The Modern Architect The Failure of the Schools The Plight of the Practicing Architect 4. The Materialist Paradigm A New Model of the Cosmos Nihilism, Despair, and the Decline of the Arts 5. The Return of the Spirit The "Other Tradition" The New Physics The Mystical Vision 6. Intuition and the Creative Mind The Mind and the Unconscious MindThe Practice of Intuition The Theory of the Archetype 7. Archetypes of Shelter The Cave The Clearing The Garden The Presence of Water The Four Elements 8. Archetypes of Design The Principle of Duality Hierarchy The Nature of Materials 9. The Resolution of Form Form and Function The Search for Form The Mathematical Basis of Architecture 10. Geometry and Number Recovering the Ancient Tradition Principles of Sacred Geometry The Meaning of Proportion Architectural Examples 11. Architect and Cosmos Anthropocosm Magic and Symbol The Parameters of Inspiration12. A Time of Transition Principle and Process Architect and Society The New Architecture Notes Bibliography Index About the Author About Inner Traditions Copyright