Contemplation in an urban landscape : a contemporary Cistercian monastery

Abstract

At the proceedings of the Second Vatican Council from 1963 to 1965, landmark decisions called for the inculturation of the Roman Catholic faith - an attempt to have the faith made more accessible within the context of culture and society. This has led to changes in monastic life for the individual monk and his cloistered community. This thesis explores the repercussions of Vatican lion the time-honored typology of a medieval Cistercian monastery. A hypothetical community of twenty-four Cistercian monks attempting to locate on a strip of land on the edge of the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is the vehicle used to implement some of the architectural possibilities to reflect the evolution of Cistercian Monasticism to date.