What makes a space sacred? Is it the layout of the space? The use of religious symbols and iconography? The people who approach the place with a sense of reverence?

David Pereyra has an interesting take on those questions. He trained to become a Catholic priest, then switched gears and became an architect. He sees houses of worship - churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues - through the lenses of theology and design.

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Toronto. (Sinisa Jolic)

In St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in downtown Toronto, Pereyra's eyes are drawn to the steps leading up to the pulpit, the placement of the baptismal font, and how the spiralling Solomonic columns echo the design of the ancient Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

"I can tell you about my visit to sacred spaces, like Jerusalem or St. Peter's or La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The perception of the whole place makes you feel in a different dimension. It's the experience of meditation when everything -- all the noise around -- disappears and you are just there. The space allows you to link back with your origins, like the meaning of religion, "religare"... the human being tries to link again with the mysterious, with the transcendental because there is something inside him or her that is telling them that there is something more. And this sense needs silence."

Pereyra believes we need more non-denominational places that are set apart as sacred spaces for personal reflection.

"I would like to see in our cities a space that is not a particular church or a synagogue or a temple, that allows everybody to get in for contemplation. I would love to see this in our cities because people need a space they can get in, a multi-faith space, for contemplation, to break the day. And now we have a lot of churches and buildings that we don't use anymore that are becoming libraries or restaurants. I would like to keep one just for [contemplation]."

Pereyra is a professor at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. He's also the founder and coordinator of "Our Doors are Open", a program that makes worship spaces more accessible for people with disabilities.

Click LISTEN to hear about David Pereyra's own sacred space designs, including how he incorporated specific indigenous elements into a chapel in Calgary.

Special thanks to Thomas Guillot, Church Manager of St. Andrew's Church.