exemplar analysis - the bora ring

although not a monastery as such, thinking about the cloister space in the abbey - i immediately thought of the bora-ring. the main ceremonial space within indigenous australian culture.

last semester i spent a great deal of time looking into this element of indigenous australian culture and its spatial hierarchies. immediately the introspective nature of the courtyard and cloister draw amazing parallels... additionally, the boar ring was constructed by digging soil from the centre of the circle outward to form mounds - similar to how the buildings in an abbey precinct form the spatial arrangement...

here is a diagram i did last semester to describe the bora-ring...

the kakka (meaning something wonderful) is at the centre of the ring and where all initiations of young men took place, as well as any other ceremonies. whilst in terms of built form very different to the abbey - this notion of perimeter and spatial arrangement begins to form an interesting parallel...