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Interior design dilemmas in a shared room of silence.

Petersson, Anna LU orcid and Sandin, Gunnar LU (2020) In Material Religion: the journal of objects, art and belief 16(2). p.213-235
Abstract
This text sheds light on the delicate practice of including different religious as well as nonreligious expressions in a shared room. The effects of design decisions in a “room of silence” at a Swedish hospital are studied over a transitional period of renovation of the space. We observe the impact of materiality in the room’s establishment, renovation, and usage, and show how the room’s interior design, its decor and objects, are conditioned by ritual acts as well by practical and spontaneous place-making processes. By following how the negotiations of the interior space relate to presupposed separations of aesthetic and religious ideals, we see how the design of a room of silence can allow several religious groups to comfortably use one... (More)
This text sheds light on the delicate practice of including different religious as well as nonreligious expressions in a shared room. The effects of design decisions in a “room of silence” at a Swedish hospital are studied over a transitional period of renovation of the space. We observe the impact of materiality in the room’s establishment, renovation, and usage, and show how the room’s interior design, its decor and objects, are conditioned by ritual acts as well by practical and spontaneous place-making processes. By following how the negotiations of the interior space relate to presupposed separations of aesthetic and religious ideals, we see how the design of a room of silence can allow several religious groups to comfortably use one common room; but also how design can cause clashes between different interests and how materiality is forced in the end to advice a clear spatial distinction between different types of usage in the room. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
room of silence, multi-faith space, materiality, religious change
in
Material Religion: the journal of objects, art and belief
volume
16
issue
2
pages
22 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081199135
ISSN
1743-2200
DOI
10.1080/17432200.2020.1722899
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4d1c628b-b75d-4897-9e4a-741170d22ea8
date added to LUP
2018-02-27 11:27:49
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:04:53
@article{4d1c628b-b75d-4897-9e4a-741170d22ea8,
  abstract     = {{This text sheds light on the delicate practice of including different religious as well as nonreligious expressions in a shared room. The effects of design decisions in a “room of silence” at a Swedish hospital are studied over a transitional period of renovation of the space. We observe the impact of materiality in the room’s establishment, renovation, and usage, and show how the room’s interior design, its decor and objects, are conditioned by ritual acts as well by practical and spontaneous place-making processes. By following how the negotiations of the interior space relate to presupposed separations of aesthetic and religious ideals, we see how the design of a room of silence can allow several religious groups to comfortably use one common room; but also how design can cause clashes between different interests and how materiality is forced in the end to advice a clear spatial distinction between different types of usage in the room.}},
  author       = {{Petersson, Anna and Sandin, Gunnar}},
  issn         = {{1743-2200}},
  keywords     = {{room of silence; multi-faith space; materiality; religious change}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{213--235}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Material Religion: the journal of objects, art and belief}},
  title        = {{Interior design dilemmas in a shared room of silence.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17432200.2020.1722899}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/17432200.2020.1722899}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}