Among The Trees, By The River, In The Ground

Archstudio has built a Buddhist temple in industrial Tangshan. It is located in a wooded area, on the banks of the river, and is partially "hidden" under an earthen embankment. Its roof overlooks a large field and greenhouses.

In plan, the sanctuary resembles the branches of a tree, spread out to the sides. The branches form five independent rooms: an entrance area, a meditation room, a tea room (the largest room), a common room and a bathroom. The architects tried to minimize their interference with the existing landscape: they preserved all the trees growing on the site, the building neatly bends around their trunks. In this case, the roof can serve as a "home" for new vegetation.

The authors tried to create a place where trees, water, Buddha and man coexist harmoniously and where "perception is enhanced." The building is constantly in contact with trees and with the surrounding landscape in general, reminding that man is a part of nature. One of these points of contact is the entrance - right in front of it there are two trees, the path to the building runs along a narrow path under their crowns.

A statue of Buddha at rest for meditation is located against the wall and faces the river. Through the opening in the ceilings, sunlight enters the room, purposefully snatching the figure of a deity from a darkened room.

The common room is separated from other parts of the building by a bamboo yard.

For the construction of the concrete walls and roof, formwork was used from pine planks 3 cm wide. Thanks to this, the cold concrete received a natural, warm wood texture. Also, all window frames and doors are made of natural wood.

For the covered premises of the temple, self-leveling floors were made using the technique

terrazzo, the texture of the stone is visible on their surface. In the yard there are white pebbles, fixed with cement mortar.