INTO THE LIGHT

Favoured for its lightness, strength and durability, aluminium used in sacred spaces evokes the ethereal and divine

- Sarah Stanley

Heaven and earth converge in places of worship, it is often said.

Churches, mosques and temples are more than places for rituals: Their designs embody the human yearning to touch the divine.

It is an intention discerned throughout history. The Pantheon in Rome, rebuilt under the emperor Hadrian in the second century, expresses this desire with its great dome roof and oculus. The circular opening of the oculus invites a shaft of sunlight that moves across the interior like a celestial marker of time.

In Istanbul, the Blue Mosque bathes its worshippers in a softer kind of radiance. Its 260 stained-glass windows filter daylight into the vast prayer hall, scattering colour and creating a glow that changes with the passing hours.

The interplay of light and geometry elevates the two monuments, so they are architectural marvels and also symbolic signals, reminding worshippers that they stand at the threshold of the cosmic order above and the mortal world below.

Such designs reveal that sacred spaces are as much about evocation as construction. And through the ages, material choices to bring out that spiritual significance have evolved.