Meditation Centre

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The Cambridge Meditation Centre proposes a multifaith facility that explores the basis of the our relationships with community, our planet, and the universe beyond. The initial design studies examined the relationship of the site, which is framed by the three spires of the city of Galt, and the exploration of human relativity. The form of the building began by contrasting the explicit verticality of the eternal coordinates, by submerging the program into the earth, such that the experience is one that is both apart from the city, and a part of the city. This allowed a central chapel element to become the vertical connection between the levels of the building by utilizing an oculus to light and energize the sacred meditation/ceremonial space. The circulation of this energy became not only an iconographic element of the chapel, but also part of the design for the building’s system integration. Sustainable design therefore became essential to providing the quality of experience of the chapel. Limestone quarried locally frames the retaining walls, which hold back a stepped wetland retention pond, feeding the building’s irrigation needs and non-potable water outlets. Hydrozonic systems powered by a geothermal field provide the radiant heating and cooling, supported by a displacement ventilation system to ensure the comfort of the occupants. The material pallet of the structure shifts between exposed concrete, wood panelling, and various metals, which interact in unison to the symbolic circulation between earth, community and universe.