San Francisco Zen Center is celebrating Fifty Years of Wisdom and Compassion. And this evening there is a special event I think I would go to, if I were in the Bay Area right now. And the same event is also running tomorrow afternoon too. I visited the SFZC in 2008 and was impressed by the building, as well as the people I met. Now the author (Julia Morgan) of the building, the architect, is being celebrated at the event tonight. Here is a description of what it’s all going to be about.

The event will take place at the San Francisco Zen Center and is a moderated panel discussion among architects who will offer insight into the design process for a particular kind of quiet space. The architects will show one or two of their own designs for religious buildings as examples. Addressing the parallels between the practice of design and spiritual practice, the idea will be to showcase the commonality of spiritual spaces by looking at various buildings and the spirit behind their designs. This event will consider Julia Morgan’s designs for religious structures, as well as what constitutes a sacred space and what is involved in the design process to create them. The dialogue of the panel will explore the relationship between the practice of design and the language of how ritual is created.

Yes, I am particularly interested in design for spiritual practice. In particular small spaces for individual retreats. At the Field of Merit project we are looking to construct individual hermitages. Not the grand structures Julia Morgan designed of course. She was herself a grand woman of her time and well ahead of her time too.