Places of Faith: A Reflection on Landscape of Manila Cathedral Plaza de Roma and Istiqlal Mosque Sacred Grounds of Jakarta

Crossing boundaries of faith from Manila to Jakarta, this study is to classify the open spaces in their sacred grounds according to its characteristics, elements, use of space and hierarchy of importance in landscape design approach. The reflection of their religious landscape in preserving the traditional, and exploring the non-traditional aspect of their landscape design in global setting is carried out thru a spatial analysis for Plaza de Roma of Manila Cathedral and the sacred grounds of Istiqlal Mosque. The design framework would tackle: concepts, planning approach, functional symbolic values, and aesthetics used. The data and information are all examined based on observation, historical background, analyses, and literature content in determining spatial functions. Finally, when results are completed, this will give a better understanding on the importance of open areas in Manila and Jakarta’s sacred spaces; paving way for a better sense of comfort in spiritual contemplation. This will also help reveal the commonalities in spiritual practices between Islam and Christianity, and the role of landscape in their religion and faith.


I. Introduction
The concept of religious landscape should not be interchanged nor mistakenly assumed as cultic and polytheistic. It seems to be a matter of common knowledge that the concept of space are socially and culturally constructed and that this concepts are historically sensitive depending on the modern perspective and experience. 1 Religious landscape" has been a topic for the past twenty years. However, since the concept is not clearly stated and indistinct in nature, there is no established intellectual space to which it is derived. As defined by Matthew Dillon 2 , religious landscape includes as well the itinerary a pilgrim is obliged to take or usually takes when approaching the sanctuary of his choice, the route which one has to take a specific place where sacrifices and other religious rites takes place. It includes the public or privately owned area surrounding a walled sanctuary not only with camping pilgrims, but also with fairs and markets, craftsmen and merchants who offer all kinds of services the pilgrims might need 3 . The space defines the temporary religious use of an often not sacred space; wherein the potential users are coming from different religious groups apart from Catholicism and Moslems and the practicing believers of these faiths that unite to experience the sacred ground.

II. Background of the Study
Places of worship, faith and religion hold a special position in the cultural and social aspects of a community. They create the design distinctiveness and hierarchy of importance in a certain structure on how these spaces are to be planned and oriented. However, the lack of spaces to work around that is sufficient to users; along with the design approach on the landscape reduce the efficiency of a sacred  Historical Background Jakarta, Indonesia: Prayer (salat) is an indispensable religious ritual for Moslems which can be conducted anywhere except for the places they consider dirty such as tombs and slaughter houses. Masjid or Mosque is an Islamic religious building where many people with the same intention can pray together. Masjids throughout the world are built based on the axis facing Mecca. Indonesia boasts one of the most unique and monumental sacred grounds in Southeast Asia. Manila, Philippines: Philippines is the only Catholic Christian nation in the South East Asia. The Manila Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica or Manila Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion, is one of the oldest and most famous churches in Asia. With a storied history and legacy that spans over four centuries, the structure has seen the best and worst of time and humanity.
Research Problem With the geographic distribution of religious groups varying considerably, the global population of Manila and Jakarta in religious landscape therefore, influences the spatial configuration and functional efficiency of their places of worship. This study highlights the comparative scale of open spaces for Plaza de Roma and Mosque Courtyards (Sahn) in understanding their importance attached to their religious structure respectively. To clearly define space hierarchy, the different rituals for Catholicism and Moslems shall be magnified and analyzed.
Goals and Objectives In order to come up with the functionality and relevance of open spaces to sacred grounds this study aims to: 1. Identify the spatial sequence and uses of space for the religious structure of Istiqlal Mosque and Manila Cathedral; 2. To define and analyzed the historical influences on planning configuration and design elements of open spaces that makes it a sacred ground. 3. To provide spatial relationship of the natural and built environment for religious spaces of mosque and cathedral through site analysis and inventory. Scope and Limitations The study is site specific to Istiqlal Mosque and Manila Cathedral's open space used for religious practices. For this study, the selected open spaces are those bounded within and adjacent to the interior and exterior constraint of these religious structures (courtyards and plaza).
Assumptions and Hypothesis Religious buildings that are monumental in scale symbolically represent spiritual dominance for a certain faith. The larger and grandeur it is designed and crafted, the more it embodies spiritual power over the other. For religious structures, it is assumed that even the smallest of space are considered sacred or blessed as long as it is attached to its main building. The orientation and size allotment of their spaces foretells the important use of the space. The sequential order and zoning of the spaces are relevant to the activities to be performed inside or outside the religious structure. Despite the changing environment, the physical characteristics of a religious structure is influenced and dictated by the traditional concept of design patterned to its historical and commemorative significance.
Significance of the Study The importance of this study is to understand the concept of religious landscape on the realms of Islamic and Catholicism's sacred grounds that reflects their culture and spiritual identity. The commonalities between two different faith and their religious practices can be a binding factor in resolving conflicts in the future. This will help define the attributes and integration of open spaces to their religious practices that is globally acceptable despite the changing conditions of climate, building materials and technological advancement used where sacred grounds are located (

IV. Methods of Inventory
To come up with detailed understanding of the space hierarchy and its functional uses, this study provided a series of documentation in gathering and translating information in the form of photos, literature research, space syntax and comparative analysis.

VI. Results and Recommendation
The importance of courtyard in a Mosque is proportional to the importance of open space for Plaza de Roma. Using descriptive analysis; it is the most efficient technique to understand and provide substantial finding. It could be understood based on the literary research that the planning configuration of spaces in terms of scale and aesthetics has its bias on location, traditional systems used in design, materials used and even attachment to the laws and notable person; political or apolitical of the specific sites. In the architecture of faith of Moslems, the use of open spaces are for the purpose of accommodating larger number of faithful to pray and perform specific social, cultural, educational and even political events during off peak days and season. For the open space in Catholic Christian communities, particularly Plaza de Roma, the anticipation its space importance can be translated mostly during the liturgical celebrations. The sanctity of Plaza de Roma is not associated with religious practices rather on the civic use of space as community Park, on how it is adaptive to its changing use from social, commercial, political uses. There are similarities in the space intent between the sacred grounds of two different faiths. It could be seen in the early stages of planning that draws back to their historical significance, but a great difference on how these open spaces are being utilized when looking at a religious landscape point of view. Being the grandest among the grandest of all mosques in Indonesia, Istiqlal's exterior should be provided with the addition of greener landscape in order to mitigate the humidity in the surrounding. For Plaza de Roma, since it is the remaining green space at the heart of the important building of Intramuros, shall be restored without too much changes on the external features; to reflect and maintain the placeness of the area and wherein such changes can also add to the historic value of the area.