International Buddhist Progress Society | Stafford, Texas

Combining contemporary Western design with traditional Eastern character and elements in a carefully achieved balance

In 2004 RHA created a master plan for the development of a 78-acre site for the International Buddhist Progress Society. The campus includes a main temple, conference center, museum, lodge, dining hall, columbarium, academic center and administrative facilities.

The columbarium, the first component of the plan to be implemented, was designed for the interment of ashes and contains more than 9,000 memorial niches. The design solution is an intentional combination of contemporary Western design with traditional Eastern character and elements. A balance between the two was achieved through the use of carefully detailed masonry, shifts in scale, the introduction of natural light and symbolic glazed tile roofs.

The design of the structure includes a clerestory-lighted central Great Hall, which features a standing Buddha and detailed millwork by artisans from Taiwan. The hall is flanked by dedicated columbarium spaces that open to exterior garden spaces. A linear translucent skylighted hall separates the double height volume Great Hall from the smaller-scale section at the front of the building that contains two prayer halls and reception, office and support spaces.

Associated site development includes a formally landscaped Stupa Garden for memorial statuary and an adjacent pond.