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In
Sydney’s Centennial Parklands, a unique undertaking named the
Peace Pavilion has created a new spiritually-oriented enclave just
east of the central city area. Sponsored primarily by the Brahma
Kumaris Raja Yoga Centre of Australia, the Pavilion was designed to
concur not only with last year’s Olympic Games and the Centenary
of Federation along with their associated programmes but with the
Centre’s Silver Jubilee in Australia
Dadi
Prakashmani, Administra-tive Head of the India-based Brahma Kumaris
World Spiri-tual University and the Honourable Gordon Samuels AC,
CVO, Governor of New South Wales, formally opened the Pavilion on
September 4, 2000.
Several
Olympic events were staged in the Park which draws 3.6 million people
annually, mostly for informal recreation. A grand park in the
European tradition, its features include gardens, ponds, grand
avenues, statues, heritage buildings, picnic and play areas, and a
wide range of sporting facilities.
The
Pavilion is a concept envisioned by the Sydney-based architect and
the Project’s Manager, Greg O’Donnell, during a period of
meditation. A specialist in spiritually inspired designs and a
teacher of Raja Yoga with the Brahma Kumaris, he explains briefly how
the pavilion came into being: “I felt that the spiritual need
for the power of peace should be reflected in a material way.”
Adds he: “As the Project Manager, I knew I would have enough on
my plate to keep me busy so, in line with our policy on community
involvement in projects, we held a competition inviting seven of
Sydney’s top architects to submit designs for a Peace Pavilion
for use during the Olympic period. All entrants came up with amazing
designs but we felt that Tonkin Zulaikha Architects gave us the feel
and look we wanted.”
The
Pavilion is dedicated to the ideal and practice of peace on three
levels: Peace of the individual, peace of the place and universal
peace. It is a place where programmes can be held in beautiful
surroundings for people of all ages and beliefs to come together to
celebrate the diversity and continuity of Australia’s
communities and to experience rest, spiritual values and a state of
well-being.
The
structure itself, sitting gently on the land, reflects the very
nature of peace. The design is formulated on an upturned leaf open on
all sides to take in the surroundings; the roof appears to be
floating above and gives the needed shelter. It is a self-sustaining
facility and requires no external power.
The
Brahma Kumaris have been actively organizing community-based peace
initiatives for the past 25 years including the International Expo in
Sydney’s Martin Place Ampitheatre in 1998 — a one-week
presentation of the philosophies of 8 major religions including
performances by singers, dancers, musicians and actors as well as
other special ceremonies.
They
have been associated with the 1986 International Year of Peace; a
United Nations initiative; the Million Minutes of Peace Project
created in Australia, which became the largest non-fund raising
project for the International year of Peace, resulting in seven UN
Peace Messenger Awards. They have provided principal speakers at the
Earth Summit in Brazil, played host to the International Forum of the
Arts in Sardinia and are members of the Coordinating Committee of the
World Parliament of Religions, among other worldwide activities. In
Australia, the Brahma Kumaris have seventeen teaching and retreat
centres. The first was established in Sydney in 1975.
Among
patrons of the Peace Pavilion are UNICEF Australia, the Women’s
Muslim Association of NSW, the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Sisters of
Mercy of Australia, the Buddhist Federation of Australia, the Hindu
Council of Australia, the Australian Zoroastrian Association of NSW,
the Unitarian Church of NSW, along with a score of well-known
professional journalists, entertainers, public luminaries and
University professors. It is designed to be a temporary structure
located in the park for a proposed period of 6 months.
The
year 2000 has been declared ‘The International Year for a
Culture of Peace’ by the UN General Assembly and the period
2001-2010 as the ‘International Decade for the Culture of Peace
and Non-violence for the Children of the World’.
Greg
O’Donnell elaborates on his approach to spiritually inspired
architecture:
“The
bottom line is consciousness. The word is often used in relation to
awareness; in particular to our feelings and personal identity. Many
of us experience this as a constantly fluctuating state in a sea of
myriad changing daily events and personal reactions to our
environment. For an emerging breed of architects, interior and
graphic designers, however, consciousness is being explored in terms
of it being a more creative tool. Heightened consciousness through,
for example, meditative techniques, can enhance their ability to be
inspired and gain added insight for specific design projects. Our
perception and ability to express creative ideas is not only
amplified, but a greater sensitivity is gained towards people, the
environment, and the materials involved in the design. The special
role of architects and designers is giving form to function; creating
beauty and crystallising in their work the essence of the times.
Ideally, the aim is to touch the user on a deeper level; to produce
something distinctive and unique, which is becoming increasingly
expected. A tuned consciousness is able to access the preferences and
aspirations of a client and better meet those expectations. The
physical and psychological needs of a client are of equal
importance.”
This
essentially eastern approach to creativity, projected from his studio
in Mosman on Sydney’s Lower Borth Shore is not without firm
foundation.
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