Atelier Deshaus crafts an eremitic, cloistered meditation hall in China

What draws people to the tabernacle of the discarnate? Is it perfect escapism, or a chance to hit cognitive reset and pause for a moment of reflection? Could it be the serenity of the space, which evokes calm, allowing one to focus their mind and thoughts? As we progress into the modern era, so do our religious and spiritual monuments. A structural context, to accommodate both the eremitical and cenobitic aspects of monastic life, was brought to life by Atelier Deshaus. Challenging the nature of 21^stcentury religious architecture through design, the Shanghai-based architectural firm conceptualised The Upper Cloister, a solitary temple ascending atop the valley of Jinshan Mountain in China.

A minimalist rural respite, the contemporary temple sits atop a 1.6 metre stepped landscape terrain with natural formations including rolling hills, mountains, and a pond. The stone and concrete structure features a dynamic, sculptural carbon fibre roof which funnels light into its interior spaces. In order to weave seamlessly into the terrain, the 615 metre square project surrounds the site in a stone cloister-like configuration.

A series of rooms form a sequence from top to bottom, including the stone courtyard (Endless Meaning), the Buddhist hall (Omniscience Hall), the meditation room, the reading room, the writing room, and the meditation hall (Aranya). All are connected to the open grounds, seamlessly forming enclosures in an orderly rhythm. The studio has combined influences from Chinese vernacular architecture, reminiscent of Le Corbusier's inspiring design vocabulary.

Meditation in motion

The new construction not only communicates with The Great Wall in time and space, but also fits into the topography and wilderness of the valley. The firm led by principal architects Liu Yichun and Chen Yifeng examined the significantly contoured levels while reframing the site context, and used it to better influence the creation of the structure. The valley, accompanying the site, had previously been harvested for both coal mining and terrace farming. “Under the weeds, one can still see the arrangement of the terrace retaining walls built by the villagers, which has become a topographical landscape in itself,” the studio states in an official statement.

Visitors approach the rigid facade design in rough stone masonry to enter the stone courtyard, alongside a hall featuring statues of Buddha. An ineffable sense of light infuses the space. Atelier Deshaus inverts the relationship between light and material, during the design process, to create the sculptural forms and uses a natural colour palette to stimulate the holistic nature of the space.

Hall of Omniscience

The open courtyard architecture underlines the spatial form and scale of the building with the thin steel plates hanging inward and thin steel columns attached to the concrete enclosure wall. The upward opening gives visitors access to the sky, while the courtyard offers scenic views of the distant mountains, beacon towers, cliffs, and clouds cruising slowly in the sky. Elsewhere, the horizontal opening facing the valley on the west side precisely frames the ancient Great Wall and a natural stone statue. The Buddhist hall or ‘Omniscience Hall’ is presented as a wall parallel to the open courtyards, with a door inviting visitors to explore the rocky terrain.

The focal point of the structure(s) is the curved roof supported by two rings of slender steel columns. The team of architects drew the punctured carbon fibre roof to reflect the form of the tent and devised an open-plan design to reference its surroundings, all with a simplicity linked with the pared-down essence of the scouting lifestyle. The lightweight meditation hall (Aranya) seeks direct inspiration from the Chinese character ‘舍.’ Breaking down the architectural phonetics of the character, ‘亼’ as the roof, ‘屮’ as the beam and column, and ‘口’ as the base. Not far away, the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty is a fossil of time.

Landscape: canvas for spiritual expression

Renowned landscape architect and monk Shunmyō Masuno brings serenity to the canvas through the landscape design of several inner gardens of varying scales. “The stone courtyard at the entrance is composed of five natural rocks of different shapes, implying the five aggregates of clinging in Buddhist culture, namely ‘form, sensation, perception, activity, and consciousness’, and the combination of the five aggregates creates all things,” informs the studio. The base is balanced with chiselled, light-hued concrete. The structural synopsis anchors the visitors deep into nature and their primal emotions.

Soak in serenity

Discarding a number of traditional elements of Chinese architecture including bilateral symmetry, wooden construction, and ornamented window edges, the studio opted for fuss-free visuals that diktats contemporary architecture. Inside, modern silhouettes, monolithic sculptures and modest materials emphasise the value of spirituality.

In order to be receptive to the evolution of natural light throughout the day, an honest material palette was used. The rigid and raw texture features walls dressed in rough stone masonry. The lower levels feature walls adorned with rhythmic striations from the shuttering used to cast them. The spaces are punctuated with horizontal frames, trading views for natural light.

The reading room adds a burst of vigour with a warm, terracotta repository that lends a contrasting temperament to the shuttered concrete walls. The tectonically expressive structures are all furniture-free, offering respite from any modern accessory, lest it intervenes with the temple observances. Harnessing the site's natural avenues, the valley below grants access to fruit trees and herbs, with winding stone paths leading to The Great Wall.

Despite its rural location, the temple embraces its modernity with gusto. It celebrates, via its architectural embodiment, stirring a ‘peaceful tension’ amongst its visitors that may leave them with more questions than answers.

Project Details

Name: Upper Cloister in Aranya, Golden Mountain
Location: Laowa Village, Luanping, Chengde, Hebei Province, China
Architect: Atelier Deshaus
Lead Architect: Liu Yichun and Chen Yifeng
Area: 615 sqm
Year of completion: 2022
Structure Consultant: AND Office
Landscape consultant: Shunmyo Masuno + Japan Landscape Consultants (courtyards and gardens), Turenscape (environment)
Lighting consultant: Zhongchen Yuanzhan Lighting Design Co., Ltd. DLX Lighting Design
Construction: Chengde County Hongsheng Construction & Installation Engineering Co., Ltd, Jimusi Sanjiang Architectural Engineering Co., Ltd