Urban Sanctum Part 1 Project 2004 Ian Owen Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool | UK The term “Urban Sanctum” was taken as a contradiction in itself. Urbanity being seen as a fast-paced refinement and sanctuary as a long term ritual. The conception with which I worked with from the very beginning, was that the physical space and form should give substance beyond the visible. While meandering through the diverse routes, the experience of intimate spaces, light, materials, sensation and emotion will make the individual loose all sense of time and existence, enhancing the ritual process and heightening the sense of wellbeing. The experience of different routes should be a discovery and part of an odyssey. The Urban Sanctum nestles into the site and promotes its activities through the forming of a public space at the entrance. Upon entry, the Sanctum offers the visitor a ‘quick fix’ or a pampering series of facilities. The bank of individual units reinforce physically and symbolically discreet short treatments, whereas one is expected to undergo a promenaded route in order to engage with the more ritualised expectations of the Sanctum. The journey attempts to draw out sensorial experiences as a form of therapy thus the play of light, textures, sounds etc. become key considerations in this project.