Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality

Julio Bermudez (The Catholic University of America)

I have always been interested in the matters of human existence and spirituality. In fact, my PhD and academic career are the results of my insatiable search for meaning (via architecture and design). Unfortunately, the tenure-track process steered me away from such profound vocation and instead focused me in topics deemed acceptable by the academic establishment. While not resentful, those youthful years of effort made me lose track of my true calling. And if they did get me tenure, they also brought much suffering in broken relationships, continuous stress, and a serious health condition. My sabbatical year following tenure was a contemplative time in which I rediscovered my vocation and, through David Orr’s book Earth in Mind, found reassurance that my duty as tenured faculty was to pursue the difficult questions with authenticity and eagerness.

It took me five years to disentangle from the grant-funded research machinery I had built in the previous seven. Once free, I dived into the study of architecture and spirituality, a topic that was taboo in the architectural (and most any) academy of the mid-2000s. I remember many a colleague (and administrator) discouraging me from such foolish and dangerous agenda. These kind warnings alerted me that dealing with the strong resistance in the field toward the architecturally ineffable demanded a concerted effort of many. Thus three other individuals and I co-founded the Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum in April 2007, an organization that I have been leading ever since. In the past 11 years, ACSF has grown to about 500 members from 48 countries, organized 10 symposia, guest-edit several journal issues, published a book, and spawn an impressive number of publications and projects. Most importantly, it has built a community of scholars, practitioners, and educators where to safely address the deepest dimensions of architecture.