A Zen Buddhist community (sangha) wished to alter this landmark Christian Science church, on a prominent site in Denver, to accommodate its spiritual practice—daily meditation and periodic retreats—while maintaining part of it for community-related programs and for rental to local groups.

Our design placed a Buddhist temple within the sloped central space. The Zendo (meditation hall) occupies the upper part, with its subsidiary spaces arranged as terraces on both sides, stepping down with the original floor. This approach maintained the landmark exterior unchanged and satisfied the sangha’s functional requirements with relatively minor structural interventions, at reasonable cost.