A triangular cumaru - wood door 30 feet high marks the transition from the secular world to this place of meditation, designed by Carlos and Gerard Pascal for members of the Jewish faith. Enter, and you'll encounter a space that's truly a religious experience. Mayan and ancient Egyptian temples inspired the imposing 2,800-square-foot interior entirely clad in flamed Spanish granite. The vestibule, also triangular, leads to a sanctuary empty except for the cumaru cantilevered bench ringing the perimeter. Sunlight enters from one side, thanks to the glass wall of a central courtyard planted with a single tree, and from the heavens, through a skylight.

PROJECT Joni & Friends International Disability Center, Agoura Hills, California.

STANDOUT A 265-foot-long ramp unfolds around a nondenominational chapel, while a cruciform skylight illuminates a reflecting pool.

PROJECT Blue Room Theater at Chesapeake, Oklahoma City.

STANDOUT Filtered MR16 lamps, glass columns with internal fiber optics, and backlit polycarbonate panels bring light into this subterranean space.

PROJECT Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.

STANDOUT The addition's exterior of concrete, corrugated steel, aluminum, and channel glass harmonizes with the restored Spanish mission facade.

See photos of all the projects in the December 2007 issue of Interior Design. Photo by Victor Benítez.