Project location:                            San Tan Valley, AZ

Project type:                                  Christian Community

Completion date:                          Not Constructed

Area:                                                40 Acres

Construction Cost:                       ~$100,000,000

Christian Community

In a secluded area, just an hour’s drive from Phoenix Airport, a Christian community embarked on a mission to establish a self-sustained spiritual haven for both monastics and laymen, to shine the light of Christ in our time.

The design faced the challenge how to create a self-sustained oasis in the desert.

The master plan meticulously divided the land into three zones: 10 acres for laymen, featuring 10 single homes, offices, a guest house, a chapel, a multi-purpose area, and space for home-schoolers and a park. Two other areas, 14.6 and 20 acres each, were allocated for the monasteries.

Each monastery was divided into 3 areas; a public area which have the guest house and auditorium. An intermediate area, having less visitors; has the church, the kitchen and the dining hall and a private area which have the monastic quarters, workshop and the cemetery. To create this haven in the midst of the desert, trees were strategically placed to buffer against external elements like dust and noise and foster a serene environment. Also, planting fields, trees, and orchards not only provides food and income but also creates a sense of refuge in the midst of the desert.

To make those communities self-sustainable, solar panels were integrated for electricity generation, a water well was to be dug, a septic tank for sewer in additions to the planting fields for food, and a compost and bio-mass generation stations were utilized.

The master plan provided to each one of the monastic and the laymen their own private space, but also allowed them to get together and pursue their ministries together, creating a larger community and a spiritual haven in the heart of the desert.