The existential hologram: toward a neurophenomenological and symbolic theory of sacred presence in architecture

Summary

Sacred presence in architecture is not a fixed symbolic meaning but an experiential achievement that arises when four fields—embodied, mnemonic, symbolic, and resonant—are coordinated by light and visibility (LUX). A new model, the Existential Hologram, traces how these fields configure attention, affect, and orientation. Applied to the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan and Chartres Cathedral, the model reveals distinct configurations: an aligned field of co-presence in Isfahan and a hierarchical narrative field in Chartres. The framework offers a transferable protocol for comparative analysis of sacred architecture across diverse settings.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article develops the Existential Hologram as a configurational model for analysing how sacred presence becomes experientially available in architecture. Rather than treating presence as symbolic content lodged in built form, the model approaches it as a fragile yet repeatable achievement that arises when four analytic fields—Embodied, Mnemonic, Symbolic, and Resonant—are coupled under LUX, a cross-field operator that organises salience through regimes of light, shadow, and visibility. Within a phenomenological and methodologically neurophenomenological stance, sacred presence is framed as configured availability: a structured mode of orientation, attention, affect, and recognisability that can be traced across concrete ritual–architectural situations. Using comparative hermeneutics and phenomenologically informed architectural analysis, the framework is applied as a proof of concept to two paradigmatic ritual environments: the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan and Chartres Cathedral. Field-by-field tracing shows how a shared analytic grammar yields distinct configurations of sacred presence—an aligned field of co-presence under LUX-as-containment in Isfahan, and a hierarchical narrative field of participation under LUX-as-solicitation in Chartres—without collapsing their historical and theological specificity into typological clichés. Conceptually, the Existential Hologram reconceives sacred architecture as an interface that organises availability by coordinating embodied choreographies, mnemonic re-entry, symbolic prescriptions, and resonant atmospheres around an appearing Other. Methodologically, it offers a transparent, transferable protocol for comparative analysis that focuses on configurations rather than inventories of forms or doctrines. The article concludes by outlining how this four-field grammar can be extended and stress-tested in small-scale, hybrid, multi-faith, and contemporary ritual settings, positioning the Existential Hologram as a platform for future field-based and interdisciplinary research on sacred presence.

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