Point Loma Nazarene University Chapel

I had the great honor of assisting Kohei Owatari of Modern Zen Gardens and Gordon Carrier of Carrier Johnson Architects on this project. The grand opening was on May 1, 2018, where everyone who contributed was recognized, including myself. There were horn players to start the ceremony, great speakers, and a ribbon cutting attended by about 200 people.

What I really liked, aside from the ultra-modern architecture, was how the architect weaved in the concept of 'The Trinity' with three main sitting nodes in the landscape and used an Olive tree (with biblical symbolism) at the main entry. Kohei replicated this in three large groupings of purple sage on the South end of the building. It was great to be part of a monumental design that's meaningful and symbolic, not just about aesthetics. My contribution involved helping put together the landscape plan set guided by Kohei's design and Gordon's direction, and I was able to pick a few of the plantings such as Mexican Bush Sage and Gold Lantana. Other key elements included a large entry fountain, boulder seating areas, DG walkways, and stained-glass sculpture panels.