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The Temple of Light is a spiritual sanctuary and meeting place for the Yasodhara Ashram in Kootenay Bay, BC. After losing their previous temple to fire in 2014, the community renewed their site by constructing a rarefied, dome-like space on the original foundations. The remote temple is nestled within the forest’s edge overlooking Kootenay Lake from a cliff top. The project is composed of a large, open worship space and a subordinate auxiliary area containing a processional entry / greeting hall as well as discretely tucked away support and storage spaces.

The remote site and larger ambition of the ashram presented a unique opportunity to sensitively respond to the community’s need to sustainably rebuild their spiritual center while simultaneously advancing our work to develop a re-deployable, efficient building system for constructing evocative, curvilinear spaces. Reusing the foundation of the previous temple conserved material, reduced cost, while upholding the ashram community’s commitment to sustainability and also minimized disruption to the immediate ecosystem.

The reused foundation now blossoms with eight luminous petal-like forms that have been delicately pulled up from the ground to provide access to gather within, flood the interior with light, and provide expansive views of the surrounding wilderness.

Architect: Patkau Architects Inc.

Project team: John Patkau, Patricia Patkau, Luke Stern, ​Mike Green, John Lacy, ​Tom Schroeder, Peter Suter

Consultants
Structural: Equilibrium Consulting
Mechanical / Electrical: Integral Group
​Lighting: Render Light and Planning​
Building Envelope: RDH Building Science
Acoustics: RWDI​ Consulting
Geotechnical: ​Deverney Engineering Services
Construction Manager: ​Alfred Horie Construction

Photography: Patkau Architects