1-1. Abstract

1. Introduction

1-1. Abstract

Architecture is a living heritage. As Ruskin said "Architecture is to be regarded by us with the most serious thought. We may live without her, and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her." 1 They reflect the background characteristic of times, technology, style, and culture. Over time, monuments record the development and memory of human beings.

With the rise of human civilization, religious buildings have always been with us in our lives. Humans and religions are interdependent. Without our participation, churches and temples are just one space. As Albert Jacquard said, "The individual is only a stone, humanity a cathedral." Without our memory contained in the building, the space doesn't mean anything.

In the past, we shared our life with religious buildings, from our birth to death. People pray for the health of the child in the religious buildings when he was born, pray for the blessing of God when he got married, and pray for him to return to the embrace of God when he died. Religious buildings once carried people's lives, however, the acceleration of history has speeding-up the rate of change since the second half of the nineteenth century. Our life is no longer closely connected with religion, architecture gradually loses its function, and the memory that once existed in space also passes over time. How to preserve the memory of the building is the key point of architectural conservation.

This research's goal is to find out when preserving the religious buildings, are there any general principles or elements that can relate to the preservation of memory. By comparing three cases from different cultural backgrounds and design strategies.