RIBA Award for Sustainable Design
The Womb Temple emerges from a growing sentiment that refusing to build anew is essential to saving our planet from the perils of a changing climate. Modern construction practices are responsible for 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Womb Temple advocates that the most effective way to counteract this is by reverting to ancient building techniques using raw stone and live trees.
Transporting these materials is deliberately slow and labour-intensive, relying on human power rather than machinery. This slower pace allows building to be treated as a ritualistic process - each stone placed annually becomes a celebration, transforming the event into a parade and festival that moves away from modern construction methods.
The temple not only revives traditional building methods but also encourages the reintroduction of nature into urban environments. It becomes a sanctuary for animal species lost in Manchester such as native deer, wild boar, and salmon, which are gradually being reintroduced. Additionally, the temple serves as a ritual space where people can spiritually reconnect with the moon, a symbol currently absent from the Manchester skyline, further affirming the renewed connection with nature and the element that governs water, the giver of life.
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