The Return of Sacred Architecture

The Return of Sacred Architecture: The Golden Ratio and the End of Modernism, by Herbert Bangs. The ugly buildings that characterize the modern landscape are inferior not only to the great cathedrals of medieval Europe and the temples of ancient Egypt and Greece, but even to lesser buildings of the more recent past. The great masterworks of our ancestors spoke to humanity’s higher nature. Architect Herbert Bangs reveals how today’s dysfunctional buildings bring out the worst in humanity, reinforcing that which is most base within us. He shows how, through the ancient laws of proportion and number, architecture once expressed the sacred relationship between man and the cosmos. In early times, the architect worked within a sacred and esoteric tradition of creating structures through which human beings could gain insight into the nature of the divine reality. Today, that tradition has been abandoned in favor of narrowly defined utilitarian principles of efficiency and economy.

In The Return of Sacred Architecture, Bangs provides the key to freeing architecture from the crude functionality of the twentieth century: the architects of the modern human landscape must find the deep-felt connection to the cosmos that guided the inner lives of those who built the temples of the past. The form of their buildings will then reflect the sacred patterns of geometry and proportion and bring forth greater harmony in the world.

The Pyramids and the Sphinx

The Pyramids and the Sphinx, by Corinna Rossi. Presenting up-to-date research and all-new photographs and plans, this authoritative volume provides a fascinating study of the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, as well as lesser-known pyramids and tombs from Saqqara to Meidum and Dashur. Superb photography gives students and armchair archaeologists an unprecedented opportunity to see, close-up, the remarkable design of grave goods such as jewelry and furniture, details of painted and carved reliefs, the awe-inspiring architecture of the pyramids, and the always fascinating statuary. A chronology at the beginning of the book outlines the different periods, from the Early Dynastic period (circa 3000-2650 BC) through the Greco-Roman period (332 BC-642 AD). A detailed map notes the significant archaeological sites. Organized chronologically, the book begins with a study of the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, masterpiece of the architect Imhotep who, in a groundbreaking practice, used stone for the construction of an entire tomb, rather than mud brick—a building technique that was to have a major impact on the architecture of ancient Egypt. Throughout the book, photographs and text highlight the artistry and skill that made these pyramids and temples such precious world treasures. Corinna Rossi completed a Ph.D. in Egyptology from Cambridge University and works with the Collegio di Milano. Her articles on ancient architecture have been widely published internationally. She is the author of Flying High Egypt.