A carefully designed rural monastery building provides peaceful accommodation, communal facilities, and sustainable living spaces within a sensitive natural and historic setting.
A carefully designed rural monastery building provides peaceful accommodation, communal facilities, and sustainable living spaces within a sensitive natural and historic setting.
Located in Chithurst within the South Downs National Park, the Cittaviveka Buddhist Monastery has grown from a former Victorian rectory into a peaceful complex supporting a resident community of monks and nuns. Working with Noel Wright Architects and Flint Construction, AWA contributed to a new building designed to enhance daily living and spiritual practice, carefully positioned to form a courtyard around an existing orchard.
AWA designed the two-storey oak frame structure and its foundations, using traditional timber construction with distinctive cruck elements to define the upper storey and create characterful internal spaces. This approach delivers durability and clarity, aligning with the monastery’s ethos of simplicity, while inward-facing glazed façades contrast with outward elevations clad in locally sourced and reclaimed stone, constructed with an innovative cavity-wall system.
The building provides a meeting room, quiet refuge space, and essential ablution and laundry facilities for resident and visiting monks, including those returning from forest huts. Designed for longevity and ease of maintenance, the layout prioritises functionality while maintaining a calm and contemplative atmosphere.
AWA Consulting Engineers is a structural, civil, and marine engineering consultancy established in 1987, with a hard-won but deserved reputation for delivering excellence in our profession.
Our philosophy is simple: we put people first. This has resulted in a high number of repeat clients and an impressive track record of successful award-winning projects. We are proud to be professional, and approachable; we believe this makes us the ideal partner for your project.
AWA has technical teams in our offices located in Romsey, Hampshire and Bath, Somerset. We deliver services to clients typically across the South, South East and South West.
Our team includes both chartered structural engineers and chartered civil engineers committed to continuous professional development ensuring you benefit from up to date industry expertise, whatever your project entails.
To find out more about how AWA Consulting Engineers can help with your project, get in touch today. Email mail@awaengineers.com and one of the team will be in touch. Alternatively, call 01794 524447 to speak to a member of our team.
Email us Call us
