Cathedrals and temples were designed to be experienced as holy. Separate from whether one shares the beliefs of builders, those who pass through their doors get a sense of something religious.
Similar responses can occur in gardens – set apart with walls or borders and designed to encourage particular moods, with natural elements in balance and flowers in bloom and fading over time.
Some set areas aside in their homes as sanctuaries – for meditation, yoga, music, or reading.
Goals in design are similar to those in Feng Shui – to provide spaces that:
One element is lighting (seen by some as a distinctive art) which, by hiding things in shadow, with the flicker of flames, or in making things mysterious or clear, can produce a range of emotional effects.
We can visit places to feel the moods they can produce, and we can arrange meaningful spaces of our own.