Between Water and Air

During this semester my project was to create a meditation center and a meditation room where I had to combine a religion and two elements.

My religion: The Sufism

The Sufism is a mysticism of the Islam religion. In the Sufism like in other religions, they have many rituals that help to enter in communication with God. The swirling, breathing, singings are part of the Sufism rituals. But I have been more interested to research about the meditation and breathing subject. The breathe-in means the purification of the body with the pure air of white colour which goes into the body and hunt the carbon which has the image of a dark air when you breathe-out.

My elements: Water and Air.

First of all, these two elements are fundamental to human life, humans breathe air and need water to be hydrated. In addition these two elements are all around the world, people are surrounded by 90% of water and have air all around them. Secondly, these two elements are complementary in fact their molecular structures are very similar and need each other to form the water cycle: the evaporation, the condensation and then precipitation. The water exists everywhere in the atmosphere. In addition the air is one of the fact, which creates the movements on the water, the swell. Finally water is the source of imagination and dreams but also ritual religions.

I chose to put these two elements into my meditation room because I think that these elements can have different states and procure different experiences and activities to the body and the mind. In addition the warm create a well being atmosphere where all the body and the muscles can be relaxed.

With the combination of all those notions I have to create a meditation space with its reception area, the separate male/female change room, toilets and showers, the meeting room, the library and the meditation room.

I imagined my meditation room in two parts. One part full of cold water and the other part full of hot steam. The room is about 12x10x5 all made of glass so people in the corridor or the meeting area can see through the meditation room. In addition, the light which go through, it is a natural light which create an atmosphere of purification. Into the meditation room is disposed six tubes more or less large within a bowl made of glass too. People go above the meditation room and choose a tube. They choose their tube in function of the number of people in fact the different size of tubes has been made to experiment the experience in group or individually. Then people should throw themselves into the thin glass bowls that does not hurt and the bowl with the weight of people is going down more or less rapid, the time to start the relaxation before the meditation into the steam room. Indeed during the experience in the tube people go through the cold water, a clear water and finally arrive into the steam room that is hot and full of grey fog where there is no visibility. People just need to sit down on the ground and continue to relax and meditate in they own space and world.

What is the process to access to the meditation room? After passed by the reception, people go in their respective change room, change their clothes with appropriate clothes. Then they can choose to go directly into the steam room or passed by the tubes first before to go in the steam room. But they can also take their time and go to the library or the meeting area or even have a class with teachers about the meditation before to go into the meditation room.