1 Contemplating the Spiritual Ethos within a Holistic Framework for Design + Planning Dr. Brian R. Sinclair, FRAIC AIA IIAS University of Calgary + sinclairstudio inc. | Canada In our modern world many problems arise due to intense fragmentation, separation + specialization. Organizations are sub-divided, companies are departmentalized, and disciplines are specialized. Within such a milieu it proves increasingly difficult to tackle increasingly complex problems. Narrow approaches and myopic viewpoints run counter to the need for more integrated and interdisciplinary ways of seeing, thinking and acting. Several years back the author developed a Holistic Framework for Design + Planning that has seen application over a broad range of circumstances and across diverse scales, from community planning to architectural design. This Framework incorporates the four key facets of Agility, Fitness, Diversity and Delight. These four areas, which are intended to be understood and addressed as an interactive and interdependent collective, transcend the typical criteria used in design and planning fields. While these areas prove innovative in their assembly and interoperability, they arguably omit equally vital aspects pertaining to spirituality. The spiritual realm, while controversial on many counts, nonetheless factors routinely and centrally into our understanding of space, our search for meaning, and our connection to place. The present paper contemplates the role of spirituality within the established Framework, and posits some benefits that may accrue through even broader and more integrated approaches to design + planning in our contemporary times. Keywords: design, planning, integration, holism, framework, sustainability, agility, fitness, diversity, delight, spirit INTRODUCTION “This contemplation is one which I, mindful, enter upon and mindful emerge from. ”Buddha i The path of our modern world has, in many spheres, been towards greater specialization, increased separation, and heightened fragmentation. Disciplines develop language particular to their fields, departments build walls to contain work & workers, while data grows, information expands and knowledge burgeons. Problems, on the other hand, escalate in complexity, scope, substance and implication. A century ago problems were arguably more local in nature, simpler to understand, and manageable to address. Today, however, problems commonly cascade into crises or catastrophes, global in extent with the world all too regularly struggling to comprehend and helpless to act. Contemporary dilemmas are often instigated through advanced technology, and ironically often demand this same technology to find resolution. In earlier papers the author has cast technology as Plato‟s Pharmakon, holding potential to serve as either remedy or poison depending on application and politicization. Accepting technology‟s omnipresence, progress and