Platinum Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2023
Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine
by Guanghai Cui
- A' Design Award 2023 Platinum Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 417,509
- Verification code 31C3D42CD4 · Verify this award
About Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine
The project is inside the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, in Xikou Town, Fenghua District of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with a planned land area of 144.997 square meters. The project site used to be an abandoned quarry with an open area in front of it, with complicated topology, where the height difference between the highest point and the bottom of the abandoned quarry is about 35 meters, and a North-Ring underground railway line passes through under the quarry.
Guanghai Cui's Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine emerges within the distinguished tradition of sacred architecture that seeks harmony between built form and natural landscape, embodying principles that have guided temple construction across millennia while addressing contemporary challenges of land reclamation and spiritual renewal. The work demonstrates remarkable compositional intelligence through its hierarchical arrangement of pavilions ascending toward a central tower, creating a visual melody of horizontal eaves punctuated by vertical thrust that recalls classical precedents while establishing its own distinctive vocabulary. Technical achievement manifests in the sophisticated lighting design that transforms the structure into a beacon of golden warmth against the cooling twilight atmosphere, a chromatic dialogue between the warm amber of human craft and the cool violet of celestial dome that speaks to enduring themes of earthly aspiration reaching toward heavenly realms. The adaptive transformation of former industrial terrain into sacred precinct suggests profound thematic resonance with cycles of renewal, the alchemical conversion of extraction sites into spaces of spiritual cultivation representing a contemporary form of land healing that honors both practical necessity and metaphysical aspiration. The presence of the crescent moon in compositional dialogue with the illuminated complex invites contemplation of celestial rhythms and their relationship to human devotional practice, while the misty mountain backdrop situates the architecture within traditions of seeking elevated, liminal sites for sacred construction. One might observe how the photographer has captured the precise moment when artificial and natural light achieve equilibrium, that fleeting interval when human illumination neither overwhelms nor surrenders to ambient conditions but rather enters into conversation with them. The viewer is invited to consider how architecture might serve as instrument of transformation, converting spaces marked by resource extraction into sites dedicated to spiritual cultivation and communal gathering.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The project is inside the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, in Xikou Town, Fenghua District of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with a planned land area of 144,997 square meters. The project site used to be an abandoned quarry with an open area in front of it, with complicated topology, where the height difference between the highest point and the bottom of the abandoned quarry is about 35 meters, and a North-Ring underground railway line passes through under the quarry.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Total site area: 144,977 ㎡
Building Coverage: 37,649.42 ㎡
Total construction area: 55,574.78 ㎡ - Tags
- Maitreya Bodhisattva，fundamental ashram，pilgrimage site, Sumeru Mountain, the Adytum of Tusita Heaven
- Production Technology
- A single-shelled glass roof covers the colossal space to symbolize the future "Longhua Dharma Hall".
A vertical structural element is inserted in the center of the ample space under the center of the shelled glass roof for vertical ventilation, equipment, and structural reasons, connecting the ground and the roof space,.
The spaces on top of the central vertical structure above the glass roof are the splendid group buildings in traditional Chinese style. - Design Challenge
- This project used a vast old mining pit to form a massive space by covering it up to serve Buddhist sermons, ceremonies, and visits. The surrounding rock wall of the pit was simply reinforced and left alone to maintain the original traces as much as possible. A contrast between the modern architectural structure and the authentic natural environment was thus formed, highlighting the Buddhist concept of conserving nature and nourishing nature after the indigenization of Buddhism.
- Project Duration
- Completed in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China in June 2022
- Operation Flow
- The Maitreya Altar is the core of this project, which can be divided into four main parts: the Great Mercy Hall in the front, the Longhua Dharma Hall, the vertical structure of Sumeru Mountain, and the Adytum of Tusita Heaven at the top. Three halls representing other Dvipas are designed around the Altar, namely Purvavideha in the east, Aparagodaniya in the west of the Altar, and Uttarakuru in the north, while the Altar represents the Jambudvipa itself.
- Research
- The second phase of the Buddhist College Project – the Maitreya Altar, is located in the lower area of this famous sacred Buddhist mountain. It has become an important Buddhist cultural place in the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, the gateway to the Xuedou Mountain. It will be the main venue of the Maitreya Cultural Festival, religious lectures, conferences, exhibitions, and cultural exchange activities with large audiences.
- Inspiration
- It perfectly covers the abandoned quarry in the shape of a flower bud in the plan, using its limitations to create a single continuous space to hold large audiences of 4500 people and form a splendid interior for the monks and believers to pay respect for Maitreya, repairing the damaged topology of the site in the past with modern architectural technologies. The flower bud plan form symbolizes the belief in Maitreya, who is believed to be the kindest and would save the followers in the future.