TRI-FATIH COMMONS
A faith-based campus design rooted in Abrahamic values shared across three Abrahamic faith groups: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Omaha, Nebraska
38 acres
2016-2020
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The Tri-Faith Commons is a 35-acre campus in Omaha, Nebraska that is home to the Tri-Faith Initiative (TFI). TFI consists of three Abrahamic faith groups (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) who have chosen to establish a faith-based campus together that is committed a model for peaceful co-existence that builds on America’s promise of religious freedom and our desire for understanding through practicing respect, acceptance, and trust. The campus design is rooted in Abrahamic values shared across the three faiths such as the sacred role of water, the belief in God, the role of prayer, worship, and the importance of fellowship.
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In 2015, the design team was invited to co-create a visionary comprehensive plan for the community on the heels of prior planning and engineering work that laid the infrastructure for the Commons. The design team worked closely with the faith groups and stakeholders, facilitating a series of visioning workshops to ground the campus planning in the organizational mission of both the TFI and the individual faiths. The biggest opportunity for the design team was to draw from values of the organization and translate the TFI mission into a legible, physical, and powerful place-based experience. The design team committed significant time on site documenting existing conditions through photography, video and site mapping with the goal of revealing places on site that were sacred and immersive, providing a framework around these elements already present on site.
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The design team created a place that is at once a home for the three faiths and residents of Omaha while anticipating millions of national and international pilgrims drawn by this landscape for learning, fellowship, and beauty. The Campus fulfilled its promise with completion in 2020 and connecting local, national and international community through a campus that allows for the formation and growth of aspirational communities near and far.
PROJECT DETAILS
Location Omaha, Nebraska
Client Tri-Faith Initiative
Team TEN x TEN, HGA, Olsson, Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecte (APMA)
Area 38 acres
Status Completed in 2020
Photos Gaffer Photography
AWARDS
2021 ASLA Minnesota Merit Award for General Design
2020 Faith + Form Religious Architecture + Art Award for Sacred Landscape