"Architecture has its own realm. It has a special physical relationship with life. I do not think of it primarily as either a message or symbol, but as an envelope and background for life which goes on in and around it, a sensitive container for the rhythm of footsteps on the floor, for the concentration of work, for the silence of sleep,” Swiss architect Peter Zumthor’s words might allude to the powerful, pervasive, intersectant experience of humans, faith, and the built converging—faith and spirituality have held due relevance in building the architecture of cultures and civilisations for ages, with religious architecture often positioned at the highest or as the most central built aspect, quite literally as the heart of the people.

Speaking to faith with the built as its medium, the KHRAM Temple of three religions is imagined as a ruminative space centred on prayer, reflection and meditation. Conceived by Ukraine-based firm MAKHNO Studio as an architectural complex settled amid Ukrainian nature in the Poltava region, the drawing board project lets its users communicate with the inner and higher self through the intervention of architecture.

The studio led by Ukrainian architect Serhii Makhno tackled the challenge of designing a sacred complex adhering to different faiths, crafting an imaginary architecture that fosters a deeply spiritual atmosphere without referencing specific religious traditions.

The lotus forms part of the architectural concept, witnessed most clearly in the complex’s design, which, when observed from above, resembles a lotus fruit with three seeds—“a symbol of spiritual potential on the path to enlightenment," as MAKHNO Studio mentions in their press statement. KHRAM’s complex thus unfolds in the form of an open square, a three-dimensional figured wall articulating its entrance, and three enormous, separate spherical rooms with spaces for solitude, prayer, and meditation housed within small architectural niches.

The massive, rounded square fronting the entrance is where one greets the temple architecture, with an invitation to leave everything worldly and distracting behind before venturing in. Visitors are imagined to leave their shoes on the wooden floor here, referencing the practice of entering spaces of worship bare-footed as observed in many faiths, and walking through the three-dimensional wall inside. 

According to the Ukranian architect, this wall, made of QUADROPOD ceramic blocks assembled in an elegant three-dimensional pattern, serves as a symbolic boundary between 'the mundane and the spiritual.'

The next step in the spiritual journey is to enter one of the three Goliathan spheres of the 600 sqm Ukrainian architecture—large sloping balls articulated in salt-grey adobe blocks—a mix of unbaked clay, straw, and sand. These are ‘living walls’ that breathe, as they absorb excessive humidity, fumes, viruses and microorganisms, all kinds of pollution, and serve as a shield from electromagnetic fields and radio waves, as well as protection against cold winters and harsh summers.

The spheres’ wombs hold niches for fire—an eternal symbol of the true giver and sustainer of life—light. Here, the space lets you be alone with the Creator. "You can come here at dawn, when the first rays of the sun break through the lace of the temple wall, reaching the very heart," shares MAKHNO Studio. "You can come in the afternoon, when the light creates a majestic picture inside the spheres, crossing the prayerful darkness," they continue.

As the hearth cools down in the evenings, its dying glow breaks free through the openings of the spheres to reach its source, "to the very horizon to dance with the stars, galaxies, and the entire Universe," they conclude.

The KHRAM Temple of three religions holds at its core an offer of universal sanctuary, for those in search of inner peace and harmony. In their intent, MAKHNO Studio delivers a universal message of slowing down and reconnecting with oneself, through this distinctive design merging contemporary architecture and spiritual agency.