The project is a celebration of old Ukrainian beliefs and folk traditions. Pre-Christian Ukrainians are described as pagan or animist because they believe that everything has a spirit – plants, animals and objects.

Located in one of Ukraine’s most spiritual cities, Dnipro, the temple tells a tale through its design. Legends say that back in the 1990s, a group of 12 physicists went to perform a ritual on Monastirskyi Island at 3.00am. The group never returned and are thought to have found a passageway to the spirit realm.

Taking inspiration from the mysteries associated with the site’s location, the building is designed for 12 spiritual practitioners, 12 guests, and one host, and acts as a gateway between the physical and spiritual realm. The temple is a place of worship for modern pagans, combined with a small lodge hotel. Ukrainian vernacular architecture and folktale descriptions of spirits are utilised to create the right atmosphere. Ordinary objects like doors, candles, chandeliers, trees, and ovens are transformed into living things, as if inhabited by a spirit, to create a living temple.