Hall of Radiance

The Hall of Radiance is notable for being the only memorial hall in Nirvana Memorial Garden to feature sweeping windows, inviting natural light to play a key role in shaping its design and symbolism.

This design is expressed through the creative use of form and a focus on neutral colours. Together, they allow the space to interact with natural light in unique, spellbinding ways while seemingly enlarging it beyond perception. The result is an ethereal sanctuary for the departed.

Like a garden that blossoms in the radiance of spring, the hall is teeming with flora. The central tower, for example, is overhung by a lotus flower in full bloom - recreated with a billowing sheer drape that circles a chandelier. Softened by the drape, its brilliance melds with the natural light.

As if expanding on this metaphor, the facade of each niche carries another symbol of the lotus flower (or two symbols, on double and multi-generation niches). The details are bountiful, from the interlocking petals that allow the backlight to seep onto their surfaces to a golden, pockmarked seed pod.

A portrait of lotus flowers also sees the interior of each niche. Most notably, each Guan Yin monument - four presiding over the central tower and two on either end of the hall - stands on a lotus flower base.

The recurring presence of the lotus flower is by design. In Buddhism, it has profound roots to the concept of enlightenment. Said to emerge from muddy waters to blossom as a pristine flower, it mirrors a will to break free from material attachments and impurities to achieve enlightenment.