Tahsinur Rahim, Grade 12
UWC-USA
At my campus (UWC-USA), we have a building on a hill further northwest of the campus called the ‘Dwan Light Sanctuary’. This sanctuary is a sacred place for people who wish to meditate and calm down with things going on in their life. They may be anxious, in conflict with someone or something, or seek spiritual intervention. This building was designed by an architect called Laban Wingert, an art patron called Virginia Dwan, and Charles Ross, a solar spectrum artist. This sanctuary was first opened on October 25, 1996.
One of the reasons that I am in love with this temple is the architecture of the building. The building is designed in a way that its orientation and geometry are derived from the alignment of the sun, stars, and moon. The building contains two apses with prisms and sloping windows to capture the sunlight throughout the day from sunrise to sunset. It creates this beautiful, vibrant, rainbow that illuminates the building inside. It has become a tourist attraction for those who want to meditate and take pictures of the inside with the pretty rainbows. Whenever I look at the rainbows illuminated by the windows, I feel a rush to my head. It can be best described as eye candy. The concrete floor and benches give off an airy smell, where it is like a toned-down incense stick. Finally, the overall minimalism of the place, such as the table with a bowl and incense sticks in the northern-most corner of the temple, gives this eerie, quiet, yet calm feeling to the temple. It puts my heart at ease and puts me to focus on myself. In short, this place is a distraction from the chaos of boarding school life.
That distraction from chaos is the biggest reason why I love this temple so much. I have found this place to become my refuge when I struggle in life. Whenever I am feeling the crunch, from homework or examinations, I would go to the sanctuary and just sit there in silence, meditating and praying. Hoping that my troubles would go away. As I would do that, I would feel the temple hugging me in some sort of way, calming me down, telling me that it will all be okay. It guides me to inner peace and resolution. I would feel the rain cloud in my mind go away as I feel more relaxed and calm to the point, where my mind is clear and I feel a lot more joyful.
Another vivid memory of the place is when our school had a program in the sanctuary. It was the 4th of December, 2021, which was my birthday. In the evening I would go attend a congregation in the sanctuary, where we would celebrate differences of religion, and have a discussion about them. I remember reciting a poem by Jalaluddin Rumi, who was a famous and well cherished Sufi poet. The poem was about loving one another in times of tumult. After we did our congregation, we went to the school president’s home, where we had dinner that was appetizing and succulent. I would not have thought that I would have dinner so delicious at school before. During the dinner, my friends, teachers, and the president would sing happy birthday to me, which made me feel special and loved.
In short, I love this place on campus for what happens inside there and how it is designed. It is, in my opinion, a testament to architectural marvels and how creative one can get with the use of solar light. How simply designing a building to be minimalistic yet creative can set the mood for a place, that people will naturally adapt to. That mood is peace and love. It is a place made for the distressed, those who want to seek a spiritual intervention and answer their personal struggles. It is the most unique part of United World College-USA because it aligns with their conflict resolution program on campus and in my opinion, the most UWC thing ever at the school. At least, one of.
Image Courtesy: https://charlesrossstudio.com/collection/solar-spectrum/dwan-light-sanctuary/
One of the reasons that I am in love with this temple is the architecture of the building. The building is designed in a way that its orientation and geometry are derived from the alignment of the sun, stars, and moon. The building contains two apses with prisms and sloping windows to capture the sunlight throughout the day from sunrise to sunset. It creates this beautiful, vibrant, rainbow that illuminates the building inside. It has become a tourist attraction for those who want to meditate and take pictures of the inside with the pretty rainbows. Whenever I look at the rainbows illuminated by the windows, I feel a rush to my head. It can be best described as eye candy. The concrete floor and benches give off an airy smell, where it is like a toned-down incense stick. Finally, the overall minimalism of the place, such as the table with a bowl and incense sticks in the northern-most corner of the temple, gives this eerie, quiet, yet calm feeling to the temple. It puts my heart at ease and puts me to focus on myself. In short, this place is a distraction from the chaos of boarding school life.
That distraction from chaos is the biggest reason why I love this temple so much. I have found this place to become my refuge when I struggle in life. Whenever I am feeling the crunch, from homework or examinations, I would go to the sanctuary and just sit there in silence, meditating and praying. Hoping that my troubles would go away. As I would do that, I would feel the temple hugging me in some sort of way, calming me down, telling me that it will all be okay. It guides me to inner peace and resolution. I would feel the rain cloud in my mind go away as I feel more relaxed and calm to the point, where my mind is clear and I feel a lot more joyful.
Another vivid memory of the place is when our school had a program in the sanctuary. It was the 4th of December, 2021, which was my birthday. In the evening I would go attend a congregation in the sanctuary, where we would celebrate differences of religion, and have a discussion about them. I remember reciting a poem by Jalaluddin Rumi, who was a famous and well cherished Sufi poet. The poem was about loving one another in times of tumult. After we did our congregation, we went to the school president’s home, where we had dinner that was appetizing and succulent. I would not have thought that I would have dinner so delicious at school before. During the dinner, my friends, teachers, and the president would sing happy birthday to me, which made me feel special and loved.
In short, I love this place on campus for what happens inside there and how it is designed. It is, in my opinion, a testament to architectural marvels and how creative one can get with the use of solar light. How simply designing a building to be minimalistic yet creative can set the mood for a place, that people will naturally adapt to. That mood is peace and love. It is a place made for the distressed, those who want to seek a spiritual intervention and answer their personal struggles. It is the most unique part of United World College-USA because it aligns with their conflict resolution program on campus and in my opinion, the most UWC thing ever at the school. At least, one of.
Image Courtesy: https://charlesrossstudio.com/collection/solar-spectrum/dwan-light-sanctuary/
www.unitedworldwide.co