Architectural Visual Design Architecture of Prayer: An Eye-Tracking Study of Church Altars and Prayer Spaces – Influence on Concentration and Meditation – Design Guidelines
Artykuł w czasopiśmie
MNiSW
200
Lista 2024
| Status: | |
| Autorzy: | Kocki Wojciech, Plechawska-Wójcik Małgorzata, Dzieńkowski Mariusz |
| Dyscypliny: | |
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| Rok wydania: | 2026 |
| Wersja dokumentu: | Drukowana | Elektroniczna |
| Język: | angielski |
| Numer czasopisma: | 4 |
| Wolumen/Tom: | 22 |
| Strony: | 1 - 34 |
| Impact Factor: | 0,3 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 0 |
| Scopus® Cytowania: | 0 |
| Bazy: | Web of Science | Scopus |
| Efekt badań statutowych | NIE |
| Materiał konferencyjny: | NIE |
| Publikacja OA: | NIE |
| Abstrakty: | angielski |
| In architectural design, there is a continual search for the most effective functional and stylistic solutions. Adapting space to the user, that is, the personalisation of space, constitutes one of the most important aspects of contemporary design process models. This is of particularly great significance in the case of religious buildings, in which appropriate design solutions are sought in order to enhance the sense of safety and to create conditions conducive to concentration, prayer, and meditation. Such buildings are designed with the utmost care and with sensitivity to the aesthetic and emotional perception of their future users. In pursuing the most appropriate architectural solutions for facilities of this kind, eye-tracking analyses of graphic visualisations are employed. The results obtained reveal previously unidentified findings of considerable practical relevance for the design of sacred and meditative interiors. Spaces incorporating natural lighting, soft textile furnishings, low seating elements, and plant-based features were consistently evaluated as the most calming, safe, and conducive to contemplative practice, and simultaneously generated moderate, positive autonomic arousal responses. Conversely, enclosed, austere interiors with limited natural light and no greenery produced the strongest physiological tension alongside the lowest subjective ratings, indicating negative emotional valence. The integration of eye-tracking metrics with pupillometric data and self-report measures demonstrated that high autonomic arousal may reflect either positive aesthetic engagement or discomfort depending on the spatial qualities of the interior – a distinction that neither physiological nor subjective measures alone could establish. The only statistically significant correlation between objective and subjective measures indicated that spaces perceived as most suitable for prayer and meditation generated the weakest autonomic responses, confirming that successful sacred architecture operates through calm rather than stimulation. These findings provide evidence-based guidelines for the design of interiors intended for spiritual practice and offer a replicable methodological framework for the affective evaluation of architectural spaces. |
