Chung Tai Texas International Retreat Center Shepherd, Texas (2026)
Chung Tai, one of the world’s leading Buddhist monasteries, owns several acres of primeval land about 60 miles to the north of downtown Houston. Bordered by the Trinity River to the north, the site is a bucolic setting of low hills, deep forests, nature trails, creeks, and small lakes. The Chung Tai Texas Pagoda Chan monastery is centrally located in the property, from where it conducts and leads its spiritual retreats and ceremonies. Housing for a growing number of retreat participants has become a critical need for the Center. The proposed design aims to build 40-bedroom units in the first phase, and another 160 units in the near future. Sited on a leveled section of the site, the first building set is carefully inserted in the existing treescape of pine, magnolia, sycamore, elm, sweetgum and oak trees. The design consists of two equal, parallel buildings, each one containing 20-bedroom units with shared bathrooms. The two one-story gable structures are an unobtrusive presence in the forest, akin to two serene wings resting in the landscape. A galvalume steel roof hovers over the modular bedroom units while framing their singular, direct views of the forest grounds.
