Project Description

The January 2025 Los Angeles fires were among the deadliest and most destructive in California’s history. As the world watched in horror, one of them, the Palisades Fire, ravaged 23,448 acres and destroyed 6,837 structures, many of them homes.

The Path of the Phoenix proposes to renew the community and rebuild the urban fabric. To reconnect people with the site, a hiking trail cuts through the burnt terrain and connects the existing fragmented foot path networks. In the wake of disaster, spiritual healing becomes as essential as physical healing. Along the path a series of uniquely designed monasteries are situated. In each, monks offer meditation, prayer, and stillness to the public through dedicated ground-floor spaces designed for healing.

For their livelihood, the monks grow bamboo in the burnt zones. The bamboo is harvested to rebuild the homes. Compared to wood, bamboo is more fire-resistant, sustainable, and more effective at sequestering carbon, which they would do while they are growing. As the bamboo is gradually used, the fields shrink until they disappear — and are replaced by the new housing. The monks move on. The monasteries remain, to be used as social housing. The urban fabric is restored and the families return carrying with them the peace they learned from the monks.