New Temple Complex
by James Gorst Architects
Client The White Eagle Lodge
Award RIBA South Award 2024, RIBA Sustainability Award (sponsored by Autodesk), RIBA South Project Architect of the Year 2024, RIBA South Building of the Year 2024 (sponsored by EH Smith) and RIBA National Award 2024
Perfectionists should start the pilgrimage to rural Hampshire now, as the architecture of this new temple for a non-denominational multi-faith spiritual organisation is so exacting it literally calms the mind – until you start thinking about how it was achieved.
Positioned on a spur of hillside, along an ancient ley line, the whitewashed timber-framed building with chalk-coloured brick sits monumentally in the landscape. A series of chakra gardens draws people towards the main temple – although you can enter from any side, a point that emphasises how all four corners of the world are welcome. If you can resist the draw of the domed temple, you can postpone enlightenment through an arrival sequence that leads from secular to ritual spaces.
Read the full citation from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal.
Contractor Beard Construction
Environmental / M&E Engineer Skelly & Couch
Structural Engineer Eckersley O'Callaghan
Landscape Architect McWilliam Studio
Timber Framing Pacegrade Architectural Facades
Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant Jackson Coles
Acoustic Engineer Theatre Projects
Project Management Jackson Coles
Access Consultant Peter Connell Associates Ltd
Planning Consultant Dowsett Mayhew
Gross internal area 586 m²
