Religious architecture in Asia is evolving by incorporating modernist influences while preserving its spiritual essence. Clean lines, minimalist aesthetics, and materials like concrete, steel, and glass are a common sight. These interventions often replace or complement the intricate ornamentation and natural materials traditionally associated with sacred spaces in the region. This approach allows these structures to achieve a universal appeal while still reflecting their cultural and spiritual foundations.
Several examples highlight this blend of tradition and modernity. The Cloud of Luster Chapel in Japan uses slender columns and abundant natural light to create a luminous atmosphere, evoking Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Building. The Temple of Steps in India incorporates cascading steps that emulate the traditional Ghats, combining cultural symbolism with Brutalist aesthetics. Similarly, the Water-Moon Monastery in Taiwan employs concrete, straight lines, and reflective pools in a manner influenced by Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture. Finally, the Jetavana Buddhist Temple in South Korea and the Upper Cloister in China integrate their layouts with the surrounding stone and hillside, drawing parallels to Wright's desert houses. Together, these projects demonstrate how Asian religious architecture is redefining sacred spaces through a modernist lens while honoring their traditional heritage.
Read on to discover how five projects across Asia blend modernist principles with traditional religious architecture.
Cloud of Luster Chapel / KTX archiLAB
Located in Himeji, Japan, this space serves for weddings and religious ceremonies. The design features a wavy roof slab, punctuated by thin columns of regular size. The structure is all white, with a ceiling free of any technical machinery or equipment. At the same time, the envelope follows the roof's shape creating movement in the façade and allowing light to penetrate the interior. The circles on the basin side have a curved base, creating the impression of a floating structure, attempting to create an overall feeling of cloud-like lightness.
Temple of Steps / Sameep Padora & Associates
Located in Nandyala, India, it provides a space that blends the socio-cultural expectations of a temple while exploring the dynamics and aesthetics of modern architecture. The structure is defined by a series of cascading steps that create a multifunctional gathering space, blending the sacred with the communal. The ecological strategy of the project focuses on the recharging of groundwater. Water overflow from the limestone quarries is led to a low-lying recharge pit or 'kund': the banks of which were imagined as a social space, in the manner of a traditional ghat: a flight of steps leading down to a body of water.
Water-Moon Monastery / KRIS YAO | ARTECH
Located in Taipei, Taiwan, this temple uses clean geometric forms to create a Buddhist-zen atmosphere. The architecture incorporates reflective pools and open spaces to encourage meditation and spiritual practice. Concrete, wood, and glass are the primary materials. As you enter, there is a double-height main hall that features a wall of prefabricated GRC panels carved void with the "Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra" (a Buddhist scripture) in Chinese characters, imprinting them with light on the interior walls.
Upper Cloister in Aranya Golden Mountain / Atelier Deshaus
The Upper Cloister is an intervention that harmonizes with the ruggedness of its natural setting. Perched atop Golden Mountain (Jinshan), in Chengde, China, the light meditation hall (Aranya) seems to be barely touching the ground thanks to its light structure. The design features a series of open, whitewashed spaces framed by slender columns, creating an interplay of light, shadow, and openness that invites visitors to connect with the mountain pass that encloses it. The space offers panoramic views of the mountains, balancing modernist simplicity with reverence for the environment.
Jetavana Buddhist Temple / Studio GAON
This structure is located in Chuncheon-si, South Korea. The project reinterprets traditional Buddhist architecture through a minimalist and modern approach while maintaining the essence of a meditative space. It features simple geometric forms and clean lines, with the use of brick. Unlike most traditional Korean temples, it was not built as a Hanok (Korean wooden house), but as a concrete structure, considering the existing layout of traditional temple buildings. That is why the path going inward through the gate was designed to swerve three times. Also, using the original elevation of the site topography, three platforms were formed so that the temple office, meditation space, temple house, and sanctuary could be placed according to the traditional hierarchical order.
This article is part of an ArchDaily curated series that focuses on built projects from our database grouped under specific themes related to cities, typologies, materials, or programs. Every month, we will highlight a collection of structures that find a common thread between previously uncommon contexts, unpacking the depths of influence on our built environments. As always, at ArchDaily, we highly appreciate the input of our readers. If you think we should mention specific ideas, please submit your suggestions.
