Interview about Martyrs' Maze Meditative Sanctuary, winner of the A' Landscape Planning and Garden Design Award 2025
Situated within a Catholic martyrdom shrine, this contemplative space features a maze path that symbolizes the pilgrim's journey, offering a serene setting for reflection. The design integrates HPL and CNC-cut stainless steel, complemented by reclaimed wood benches and volcanic stone flooring, seamlessly blending traditional reverence with modern aesthetics. The use of durable materials ensures longevity, while the meticulous craftsmanship fosters a harmonious environment that honors the martyrs' legacy with both creativity and reverence.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe material selection for Martyrs’ Maze Meditative Sanctuary was driven by a desire to strike a balance between contemporary clarity and spiritual humility. We sought materials that could embody modern precision while also holding emotional resonance—creating a space that feels both current and timeless.CNC-cut stainless steel offered the structural sharpness and refined detailing we needed to articulate the maze’s precise geometry. Its subtle reflectivity catches changing light throughout the day, creating moments of quiet illumination that reinforce the meditative quality of the journey. It also speaks to the endurance of memory—strong, resilient, and resistant to erasure.In contrast, we paired it with reclaimed ship wood and volcanic stone—materials rich with organic texture and historical weight. These elements soften the metallic edges, grounding the experience in the tactile and temporal. The wood, weathered by time and water, evokes narratives of passage and endurance, while the volcanic stone offers a sense of permanence and connection to the earth.This material dialogue—between polished and weathered, manufactured and natural—allowed us to honor the sacred nature of the site without resorting to overt symbolism. Instead, reverence is built into the experience through restraint, contrast, and quiet detail. The result is a sanctuary where spiritual depth and modern design not only coexist, but elevate one another.
The layout of Martyrs’ Maze was inspired by the tradition of pilgrimage and labyrinthine movement—where walking itself becomes a contemplative act. We aimed to create a spatial rhythm that slows the body, quiets the mind, and draws the visitor inward with each turn.The decision to set the pathway width at 1,200mm was carefully considered. At this scale, the path maintains a sense of personal space—wide enough to feel physically comfortable and dignified, yet narrow enough to gently discourage casual conversation or side-by-side walking. This subtle spatial cue encourages visitors to walk alone, fostering introspection without feeling confined.Each turn in the maze is deliberate, guiding visitors through a sequence of sensory and emotional transitions. The consistent 1,200mm width helps maintain a steady pace and a human-scaled intimacy throughout the journey. Rather than creating a space of visual spectacle, we shaped a path for internal movement—toward memory, stillness, and spiritual resonance.Ultimately, the layout and pathway width work together to transform movement into meaning—offering each visitor a quiet pilgrimage through space, silence, and remembrance.
Our research into historical martyrdom sites revealed profound themes of displacement, endurance, and spiritual conviction—often lived out in exile, silence, and marginal landscapes. These insights guided our selection of materials, which we treated not just as construction elements, but as carriers of meaning.The reclaimed ship wood was chosen for its narrative resonance. Once part of vessels that crossed uncertain waters, it now forms a quiet, grounding surface—evoking the physical and emotional journeys endured by many of the martyrs. Its weathered grain and irregularity offer a tactile sense of time, of lives shaped by unseen struggles and steadfast faith.The volcanic stone, while not sourced locally, was selected for its symbolic and experiential depth. Its dark, porous texture evokes both suffering and strength—qualities that echo the trials faced by those memorialized. As visitors walk across this surface, they engage physically with the weight of memory and the endurance of belief.By weaving these materials into the maze, we aimed to transform abstract remembrance into a lived, sensory experience. Each step along the path becomes an act of reflection—connecting visitors to the legacy of the martyrs not through spectacle, but through quiet material presence and emotional continuity.
Receiving the Bronze A’ Design Award affirmed our belief that sacred space can emerge through a dialogue between advanced technology and emotional depth. In the Martyrs’ Maze Meditative Sanctuary, we relied on digital twin technology not simply for efficiency or accuracy, but as a means of deep listening—to the land, its subtle contours, and its historical and spiritual context.Using high-resolution LiDAR scanning, we created a precise digital replica of the site. This allowed us to observe micro-topographies, drainage patterns, and the natural flow of the terrain with great clarity. But rather than treating the digital model as a final solution, we used it as a foundation for intuition, restraint, and reverence. Our aim was not to overwrite the land with design, but to allow the design to emerge from it.We interpreted the digital data with care—preserving irregularities, following natural slope lines, and allowing the terrain’s quiet complexity to shape spatial experience. This fidelity to the site was what grounded the emotional and spiritual aspects of the sanctuary: the slow turns of the maze, the framing of sky and shadow, and the tactile relationship between body and ground.In essence, technology served not as a substitute for meaning, but as a tool to reveal and refine it. Through this approach, the sanctuary became both exact in its construction and profound in its presence—an environment where memory, matter, and spirit coexist with quiet clarity.
The compact 15,000mm x 12,000mm site required us to think carefully about how to create a layered, meaningful experience without dividing the space into separate zones. Instead of accommodating large gatherings in a traditional sense, we focused on creating a spatial sequence that guides individuals into a shared center—not for events, but for stillness.The entire maze is organized as a slow, inward journey. Narrow, 1,200mm-wide paths promote solitary walking and introspection. Each step and turn is deliberate, reinforcing a personal rhythm. As visitors progress, they are gradually led toward a circular space at the heart of the sanctuary—defined not by openness, but by inward-curving walls.This central area isn’t designed for collective assembly in the conventional sense; it doesn’t open outward, but rather holds space for shared solitude. Multiple visitors may arrive separately and be present together, yet in silence and reflection rather than spoken interaction. In this way, intimacy is preserved even when the space is occupied by several people.By designing for convergence rather than congregation, we transformed the spatial constraint into a meditative device—creating a sanctuary that offers both individual reflection and a quiet, collective presence anchored in reverence.
Sustainability in Martyrs’ Maze Meditative Sanctuary was never treated as an afterthought—it was fundamental to the project’s ethical and spiritual foundation. We saw environmental stewardship as a contemporary form of reverence: a way to honor not only the memory of the martyrs, but also the land that holds their stories.The use of reclaimed ship wood reflects this deeply. Rather than sourcing new materials, we gave renewed life to something aged and weathered—carrying within it a narrative of journey, endurance, and transformation. This material, once part of vessels that crossed uncertain waters, now forms the surface upon which visitors walk in contemplation. It quietly bridges past and present, memory and materiality.While the volcanic stone was not locally sourced, it was chosen for its longevity and symbolic weight. Its textured surface speaks to suffering and resilience, and its durability ensures the sanctuary will endure without frequent repair or replacement—minimizing environmental impact over time.By selecting materials that age gracefully, require minimal intervention, and evoke natural processes of decay and renewal, we aligned the physical space with the spiritual rhythms of remembrance. The sanctuary becomes not only a place to reflect on human sacrifice, but a model for humility and continuity in how we engage with the earth.In this way, sustainability becomes an extension of the sanctuary’s memorial purpose—a quiet, enduring promise of care for both memory and the environment that surrounds it.
The Martyrs’ Maze Meditative Sanctuary was the result of an intentional dialogue between academic research and hands-on design practice—a collaboration that allowed us to move beyond surface-level aesthetics and into deeper spatial meaning.From the academic side, we drew on studies of sacred space, martyrdom, pilgrimage, and memory-making. This research gave us a conceptual framework to understand how physical environments can hold and transmit emotional and spiritual narratives across time. It helped us approach the sanctuary not just as a space to design, but as a story to listen to and interpret.In parallel, our practical design team brought field knowledge, material experimentation, and digital fabrication expertise. Tools like high-resolution LiDAR scanning and digital twin modeling allowed us to translate subtle terrain data into precisely responsive forms, while still honoring the natural imperfections and rhythms of the land.The fusion of these perspectives allowed us to ask more meaningful questions—about ritual movement, the symbolism of material decay, and the choreography of light and shadow. As a result, the sanctuary became not just a product of design, but a vessel of layered knowledge—where theory and practice converged to create a space that is both intellectually grounded and experientially profound.
Seasonal change was considered not as a challenge to overcome, but as a quiet collaborator in shaping the sanctuary’s atmosphere. We designed Martyrs’ Maze to invite nature in—not to resist rain, wind, or light, but to allow them to become part of the contemplative rhythm of the space.Materials were chosen for how they weather, not just how they appear when new. The reclaimed ship wood underfoot develops a richer patina over time, its grain deepening with moisture and sun—marking the seasons in silence. Volcanic stone, with its porous surface, subtly absorbs water and light, offering warmth underfoot in the sun and a textured coolness in shade. Even the HPL panels were selected for their durability and matte finish, ensuring they hold their visual calm in both bright and overcast conditions.Spatially, the maze’s curvature and orientation mediate environmental effects. The curved walls filter wind, frame moving sunlight, and create intimate microclimates throughout the day. In autumn, fallen leaves are not swept away—they’re allowed to gather in corners, becoming part of the texture of remembrance. In winter, the muted palette of weathered materials echoes the stillness of the season.Through this, the sanctuary becomes a living environment—one that changes, breathes, and reflects the world around it. This responsiveness reinforces the meditative quality of the space: reminding visitors that memory, like the landscape, is shaped by time, change, and quiet repetition.
Situated within the Gaegab Martyrdom Shrine, Martyrs’ Maze Meditative Sanctuary was envisioned as more than a commemorative structure—it is a medium of quiet storytelling. Rather than relying on plaques or didactic displays, the sanctuary communicates the martyrs’ legacy through atmosphere, material, and movement.We designed the space to evoke emotional memory. As visitors walk the 1,200mm-wide path alone, they engage in a physical act of reflection that mirrors the isolation, courage, and spiritual conviction of the martyrs. The spatial journey becomes a ritual, guiding the body and mind into a shared cultural memory—one that is felt, not merely learned.For younger generations especially, the sanctuary offers a new way of connecting to the past—through experience rather than instruction. The reclaimed ship wood, volcanic stone, and curved forms all carry symbolic weight, but they do so quietly, allowing each visitor to interpret and internalize meaning on their own terms.By rooting memory in material and form, the space preserves the martyrs’ stories not as static history, but as living presence—one that adapts with time, yet remains anchored in reverence. In doing so, the sanctuary serves as both cultural inheritance and spiritual offering: a place where remembrance is passed not only through words, but through the body, the land, and the silence in between.
The use of high-resolution LiDAR scanning was essential not only for capturing the physical conditions of the site, but for guiding the emotional and spatial logic of the sanctuary. It allowed us to begin the design process not with speculation, but with precision—a digital twin that faithfully recorded every subtle contour, slope, and surface variation of the terrain.One key example of how LiDAR shaped our decisions was in the calibration of the maze path itself. By analyzing micro-topographies revealed in the scan, we adjusted the path to follow natural drainage lines and topographic flows, ensuring the structure settled gently into the land rather than cutting across it. This reinforced the contemplative rhythm of the space—allowing visitors to move with the landscape rather than against it.The data also allowed us to test how light and shadow would behave throughout the day and across seasons. This informed decisions on the height and curvature of wall elements, ensuring that key moments of pause—particularly in the central chamber—would receive controlled natural light, enhancing the meditative atmosphere.Additionally, LiDAR helped us preserve the site’s organic irregularities. Rather than flattening or standardizing surfaces for ease of construction, we allowed certain asymmetries and subtle misalignments to remain. These were not mistakes—they were deliberate acts of reverence, maintaining the authenticity of the land’s character and avoiding over-design.Ultimately, LiDAR became more than a tool for measurement; it was a tool for listening. It allowed us to design not from an abstract ideal, but from the ground itself—translating technical accuracy into emotional resonance, and letting the sacred emerge from the specific.
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