Impressive SGI Hall in Korea

[Yuren]

[Yuren]

The US Christian "mega churches" have nothing on this thing.
Buddhism has come a long way from that miserable Bodhi tree, to this magnificent luxury!

[KeithA]

The US Christian "mega churches" have nothing on this thing.
Buddhism has come a long way from that miserable Bodhi tree, to this magnificent luxury!

TBH, I prefer the Bodhi tree...

Different strokes and all.

[jake]

Wouldn't want to be the gent in charge of changing those light bulbs....

[Queequeg]

Not a particular fan of SGI architecture, but they do stuffy East Asian contemporary formal public space about as well as it can be done.

My favorite Soka Gakkai architecture will always be the Sho-Hondo that once stood at Taisekiji - demolished after the schism between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu:

[Brunelleschi]

This style of architecture reminds me of Scientiology or Ted Haggards megachurch.

[Queequeg]

This style of architecture reminds me of Scientiology or Ted Haggards megachurch.

I think there's a common factor... none of these groups is trying to impress the Architectural Digest crowd and instead aiming to make an environment that is welcoming and not intimidating to the uncool religious.

[Caoimhghín]

This style of architecture reminds me of Scientiology or Ted Haggards megachurch.

I think there's a common factor... none of these groups is trying to impress the Architectural Digest crowd and instead aiming to make an environment that is welcoming and not intimidating to the uncool religious.

I think they are actually trying to make a nice building. I think that they are cutting corners. The Cham Shan Temple near my hometown (a very rural small town in Ontario believe it or not) is costing over $80 million dollars and will take many, many years to complete. This Hall, nice as it is, could have went up in less than a month. That is the difference between spending your money on fastness or quality. IMO.

People also no longer expect giant fancy temples. We live in an age of SkyDomes.

[Queequeg]

nice building

Eye of the beholder.

[Caoimhghín]

nice building

Eye of the beholder.

It's prettier than the Trump Tower in Toronto. I can think of many ways that it could have been gaudier. I think they constructed a sensible and functional hall. Looking at the ridges near the roof on the inner walls, I think they are using a similar acoustic design as that is used in Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. It probably sounds quite nice in there.

[Fortyeightvows]

modern architecture just doesn't have the feeling
Of course, I hope we wouldn't say all this to the people who paid for this building.

[Queequeg]

nice building

Eye of the beholder.

It's prettier than the Trump Tower in Toronto. I can think of many ways that it could have been gaudier. I think they constructed a sensible and functional hall. Looking at the ridges near the roof on the inner walls, I think they are using a similar acoustic design as that is used in Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. It probably sounds quite nice in there.

Trump is not something to compare as a standard for anything... His architecture is AWFUL. I can see one of his former buildings outside my window. And up at my parent's house, you can see one of his towers rising up like an extended middle finger over the suburban landscape. I don't know anyone who actually likes Trump architecture. Its a certain aesthetic that appeals to the tasteless, ostentatious rich. Its Gordon Gecko's 1980s glass monstrosity. Its Donald Jr.'s brylcreamed, slicked back hair. The word "classy" spoken without irony, often in a Queens/Long Island accent, evokes the aesthetic. Lots of gold and expensive looking, highly polished stone, glass facades. Blech.

Incidentally, I think Soka Gakkai's aesthetic derives from Bubble-era Japan, contemporary of Trump's aesthetic. If I had to describe it, it would be gaudy frumpiness, like squat, East Asian farmer on a package tour flashing gold teeth and carrying knock off Luis Vuitton luggage. I've observed the aesthetic across East Asia. I think it was adopted following the Japanese example as the standard to announce to the world that a nation had arrived. Its what an East Asian bumpkin thinks is sophisticated and Western.

Thankfully, this architectural style is on the wane, reserved to the unhip, conservative crowd. Like the Soka Gakkai crowd.

LOL.

OK, I need to stop... Can you tell bad architecture annoys me to hell?

[Caoimhghín]

Eye of the beholder.

It's prettier than the Trump Tower in Toronto.

Trump is not something to compare as a standard for anything... His architecture is AWFUL.

My metric for comparing it against the Trump Tower in Toronto was to show that is was not gaudy looking . Comparing anything to a Trump Tower makes it seem a lot nicer.

[Queequeg]

My metric for comparing it against the Trump Tower in Toronto was to show that is was not gaudy looking . Comparing anything to a Trump Tower makes it seem a lot nicer.

I cannot argue with that.

The SGI architecture is perfectly nice. These opinions are my own hangups.

[DGA]

Not a particular fan of SGI architecture, but they do stuffy East Asian contemporary formal public space about as well as it can be done.

My favorite Soka Gakkai architecture will always be the Sho-Hondo that once stood at Taisekiji - demolished after the schism between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu:

That place was gorgeous! I don't know the story, but I feel it must have been a loss when it was demolished no matter what the context.

[Queequeg]

Not a particular fan of SGI architecture, but they do stuffy East Asian contemporary formal public space about as well as it can be done.

My favorite Soka Gakkai architecture will always be the Sho-Hondo that once stood at Taisekiji - demolished after the schism between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu:

That place was gorgeous! I don't know the story, but I feel it must have been a loss when it was demolished no matter what the context.

It was awesome in the formal sense of that word. The acoustics were amazing - add a few thousand people chanting and it was an extraordinary experience.

Millions of people put their heart into that building. Its demolition was spiteful, but understandable from Nichiren Shoshu's perspective. That schism was painful all around.

[DGA]

Not a particular fan of SGI architecture, but they do stuffy East Asian contemporary formal public space about as well as it can be done.

My favorite Soka Gakkai architecture will always be the Sho-Hondo that once stood at Taisekiji - demolished after the schism between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu:

That place was gorgeous! I don't know the story, but I feel it must have been a loss when it was demolished no matter what the context.

It was awesome in the formal sense of that word. The acoustics were amazing - add a few thousand people chanting and it was an extraordinary experience.

Millions of people put their heart into that building. Its demolition was spiteful, but understandable from Nichiren Shoshu's perspective. That schism was painful all around.

I've had a heartache over this for the last couple of weeks since I read this thread. I'm a complete stranger to both SGI and Nichiren Shoshu, I'm largely ignorant of the backstory, but I'll be damned if it doesn't hurt anyway. It feels as though there must have been many such losses when that split occurred. I'm not trying to open up an old wound here, just reflecting on loss with some whiskey in my belly and a cat in my lap.

May the causes for conflict be eliminated, and may all grow together in the Rain of the Dharma.

[Queequeg]

May the causes for conflict be eliminated, and may all grow together in the Rain of the Dharma.

Svaha!

[narhwal90]

[
I've had a heartache over this for the last couple of weeks since I read this thread. I'm a complete stranger to both SGI and Nichiren Shoshu, I'm largely ignorant of the backstory, but I'll be damned if it doesn't hurt anyway. It feels as though there must have been many such losses when that split occurred. I'm not trying to open up an old wound here, just reflecting on loss with some whiskey in my belly and a cat in my lap.

May the causes for conflict be eliminated, and may all grow together in the Rain of the Dharma.

Quite a few people were literally in tears over the demolition of the hall, cutting of trees in front etc. Lots of folks put their heart & soul into saving pennies to help finance its construction. Similarly, the offiical excommunication cut out a large part of the organization pretty nearly overnight, lots of people disappeared to "the temple". I wouldn't be surprised if families were divided over the question though I didn't observe that particularly. Though I have no 1st hand information, I wonder how traumatic the events were for Nichiren Shoshu, so many people excluded by fiat- reportedly the head temple grounds were made into something of a ghost town almost overnight.

[DGA]

[
I've had a heartache over this for the last couple of weeks since I read this thread. I'm a complete stranger to both SGI and Nichiren Shoshu, I'm largely ignorant of the backstory, but I'll be damned if it doesn't hurt anyway. It feels as though there must have been many such losses when that split occurred. I'm not trying to open up an old wound here, just reflecting on loss with some whiskey in my belly and a cat in my lap.

May the causes for conflict be eliminated, and may all grow together in the Rain of the Dharma.

Quite a few people were literally in tears over the demolition of the hall, cutting of trees in front etc. Lots of folks put their heart & soul into saving pennies to help finance its construction. Similarly, the offiical excommunication cut out a large part of the organization pretty nearly overnight, lots of people disappeared to "the temple". I wouldn't be surprised if families were divided over the question though I didn't observe that particularly. Though I have no 1st hand information, I wonder how traumatic the events were for Nichiren Shoshu, so many people excluded by fiat- reportedly the head temple grounds were made into something of a ghost town almost overnight.

Sometimes, you don't realize that something was highly traumatic until long afterward when it hits you (usually when you don't see it coming). I wasn't there but I can't imagine a way in which events like this aren't traumatic for Dharma practitioners whether they recognize it yet or not. All parties involved. Hurt is nonsectarian.

Here's to healing for all those harmed by such events.