This research is based on the scenario in the context of Hong Kong, in which church has been built in densely populated urban environment restricted in flat space. The research objectives were: 1) firstly to investigate the relationship between theology and spatial design in Hong Kong Protestant church; 2) secondly, to analyse the issue of the lack of design with respect to sacred identity in the church of Hong Kong that leads to an unappealing and non-sacred appearance of Protestant church; 3) and finally, to establish theoretical standpoints on designing sacred space with contemporary quality without surrendering of the sacred identity. The aims of the research were to understand the influence of secularisation to the rationale of church design and to generate an appropriate identity of church with a theoretical standpoint to serve the contemporary community effectively.
In order to meet these objectives, the study comprised of a qualitative site observations of 171 churches, which provided comparative figures for the study of churches incorporated with design elements or no design elements.
In Hong Kong approximately 775 one-flat churches, which are 66% of the total number of Protestant churches, are located in different layers of vertical space within this vertical city. When churches provide social services in the same limited space, the identity of church is surrendered to the need of the social community.
This study endeavours to facilitate church design with the focus on the immanence quality in order to encounter the different spatial limitations in church design.