influenced by the community-driven atmosphere of burning man, architect fernando romero of FR-EE co-founds the design group ?planet collective? and envisions the ?holon temple?. the temporary timber pavilion could be constructed for the annual festival in nevada?s black rock desert, to stand for a week-long experiment in communal living and spiritual reflection. the team at planet collective comes together to generate a pavilion temple space at burning man ? an event which draws tens of thousands of people ? for gathering, meditation, and reflection.

image by juan carlos ramos
 
 
the holon temple proposal by FR-EE and planet collective expresses influence from the ancient greek ?holon? ? a word which describes an object both complete unto itself and an integral part of a larger system. guided by this concept, together with the principles of burning man, the temple takes the form of an oblong wooden ellipsoid housing a smaller version of itself that serves as an altar. the altar itself contains an even smaller replica, creating a nested system of objects that invites contemplation and embodies the idea of a holon.
image by juan carlos ramos
 
 
to achieve the holon temple?s distinctive geometry, FR-EE conceives a system of wooden trusses which sculpturally bow outwards. these timber elements are braced by thirty-four circular horizontal members, each a symbolic representation of each year of burning man?s existence. the trusses culminate in the compression ring membe...