A Buddhist Temple Rises in the Bay Area

Part SIX

Views first imagined through drawings and architectural renderings now exist at full scale. The project has moved well past its midpoint. Scaffolding is coming down from the upper sanctuary while finish work advances across the buildings and grounds.

Created in collaboration with Andrew Mann Architecture (AMA) and A Khmer Buddhist Foundation, this sixth installment follows the work at Wat Khmer Kampuchea Krom as construction moves toward completion.

At Ground Level

The new courtyard flatwork gives clearer definition to the space between the sanctuary and community building. Walkways, edges, and gathering areas now establish how people will move through and occupy the center of the campus.

Along the sanctuary walls, a kinnara appears among the ornament. Part human and part bird, kinnaras appear in Buddhist art and in the Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha’s previous lives. In one Jataka tale from the Theravada tradition, the future Buddha is born as a kinnara in a story about devotion and faithfulness through suffering. Figures like this are more than decoration. They bring Buddhist stories and teachings into the space of the temple.

The team is testing finishes for the doors and decorative wall base. Variations in red and gold are mocked up directly on the building so the patterns, colors, and surfaces can be compared before a treatment is selected for the rest of the sanctuary.

Turning the Wheel

Dharma wheels appear high on all four sides of the sanctuary. Red and gold ornament surrounds them. Each wheel has eight spokes representing the Noble Eightfold Path, a practical guide for living with greater wisdom, ethical conduct, and awareness.

The wheel also recalls the moment when the Buddha began sharing what he had learned after his awakening. Buddhist tradition describes this as “setting the Dharma in motion.” The idea is simple. The teachings continue when people learn them, practice them, and pass them on.

The decorative painters are now finishing these upper portions of the sanctuary in place. Their work brings color and definition to forms that will eventually be seen from below as part of the larger composition.

As the Scaffolding Comes Down

Seated Buddha carvings line the base of the spire. Floral and leaf-like forms rise between them above a repeating geometric band. Gold highlights the raised surfaces while deep red fills the recesses. The repetition carries Buddhist imagery around the structure and gives the base its distinctive rhythm beneath the pinnacle.

Crews are preparing to remove the scaffolding from the upper sanctuary. For over a year, the temporary structure has supported work at the highest point of the building. Its removal marks another shift as the upper sanctuary moves from active construction toward completion.

The spire has come together piece by piece. The carvings, color, roof, and pinnacle now work together as one architectural form. As the temporary framework gives way, the design can be seen as intended, bringing to light what is meant to be.

Two Spaces, One Temple

The sanctuary and community hall face one another across the central courtyard. The sanctuary rises vertically. The community hall stretches horizontally. Their scale and character differ, but the two are closely linked in the life of the temple.

Chandeliers now run along the center of the sanctuary, drawing a line of light through the tall room. Across the courtyard, the community hall opens into one expansive space designed to accommodate larger gatherings.

Their relationship goes beyond proximity. The sanctuary is centered on ceremony and practice. The community hall creates space for the relationships that help sustain it. Together, the two spaces hold spiritual and communal life in balance.

At the Threshold

The black steel rising at the two entrances is the first part of the future portals. Gates will attach to these frames. Cast-in-place concrete will build out around the steel. Tons of stone will eventually wrap it to create the finished exterior.

Passing through the threshold is more than simply entering the grounds. It signals a move from the ordinary surroundings of the street into a place approached with greater intention. The architecture gives that transition physical form.

Historic Khmer design gives particular importance to this moment of passage. Gopuras are monumental features that mark access to major temple complexes and help organize movement through the site. This new work continues that tradition in a contemporary Buddhist setting.

Coming Into View

The layered roof, spire, color, and ornament now give the sanctuary its unmistakable Khmer Buddhist character. Much remains unfinished, but the temple no longer needs to be imagined. It is here.