2023 AIA Colorado Design Award of Excellence: The Great Dharma Chan Monastery

AIA awards highlight best practices and recognize exemplary projects.

These awards engage and support members in the architecture profession, highlighting categories such as design, innovation, sustainability, and community impact. Receiving an AIA (American Institute of Architects) award indicates that a project or architect has demonstrated exceptional creativity, innovation, and skill in the design and execution of a building. Specifically, the Design Award of Excellence is the highest possible honor, recognizing projects that represent architectural design excellence on all levels and exemplify the highest standards to which AIA members aspire.

We are deeply honored and proud to announce our receiving of this award for The Great Dharma Chan Monastery, which serves as a meaningful validation of our sustainable practices and commitment to thoughtful and beautiful design.

The Great Dharma Chan Monasterys Zen Garden and Moongate.

To guide our design of this project, we followed the principles of respecting the site’s natural resources, crafting with a minimal carbon footprint, and aiming to connect natural and cultural elements. Starting with the site’s ecosystem, we continuously worked to respect the environment by preserving, protecting, and enhancing the wetland habitats and growth of native species. We did so by locating buildings on already disturbed areas or places where invasive plant species had formed. In newly landscaped areas, we utilized native vegetation and species, 75% of which demand low water for survival.

The primary structural system for the Monastery was constructed of glue-laminated timber beams and cross-laminated timber (mass timber), selected for their minimal carbon footprint and beautiful aesthetic. Mass timber provides a substantially smaller environmental footprint than traditional building materials; the most prevalent of which is its ability to store carbon and in turn, lower carbon emissions throughout the harvesting and building process. The use of these timber materials in this project alone avoided 490 metric tons of CO2 emission (equivalent to keeping 138 cars off the road for one year or creating energy for 61 homes to be operational for one year).

The heart of Chan Buddhism lies in its culture and practice. With meditation at the center, the design of the meditation hall needed to share in the motif of connecting the two. The use of mass timber and cedar evokes an outdoor atmosphere and a sense of tranquility throughout the entire space. The meditation hall is meant to have its practitioners feel as though they are under a forest canopy, a source of inspiration for thoughtful meditation. Buddhist statues and proverbs are found throughout the building, reminding its visitors and occupants of the cultural significance held within the Monastery’s walls. Through the use of warm cedar and light-filled interiors, we hoped to connect the surrounding environment to the spiritual journey.

Meditation Hall.

Monastery Entrance.

To receive this award, architects are challenged to use the framework for design excellence (from AIA) as a guide to show what can be achieved by the designer and client through intentional work. The goal is to inspire sustainable, resilient, and inclusive design. As architects, we can find creative solutions within each project to make incremental improvements, test new strategies, and apply lessons from past experiences. We strive to elevate projects through beauty and function, to positively impact future communities, and to find nature-based solutions. In conjunction with, aiming to add value to owners and occupants, reducing energy and working with healthy material, and supporting the well-being of those who inhabit said buildings, all while crafting resilient livable designs.

With this framework in mind and coupled with our client’s willingness to explore a sustainable approach, we created the design for the Great Dharma Chan Monastery.

Receiving an Award of Excellence not only stands as a testament to our commitment to innovative and sustainable architectural design but it also underscores the profound impact thoughtful and purposeful architecture can have on communities. This award reaffirms our dedication to pushing the boundaries of design for a better built environment.

Jacob Schneck (Project Architect) and Adrian Sopher (Principal) posing with the award at the September 19th ceremony.