{"id":234653,"date":"2025-10-30T20:28:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/234653\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T20:28:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:28:16","slug":"shortlisted-designs-in-contest-for-christs-baptism-museum-in-jordan-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/234653\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortlisted designs in contest for Christ\u2019s baptism museum in Jordan revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK-based Stirling Prize-winner is one seven teams competing for the commission<\/a> to create the museum at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the east bank of the River Jordan, where it is traditionally believed Christ was baptised.<\/p>\n

The other finalists are: Bethlehem-based AAU Anastas; Dublin-headquartered heneghan peng architects; Studio Anne Holtrop of Bahrain and The Netherlands; Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO from Mexico City; New York\u2019s Toshiko Mori Architect; and New Orleans-based Trahan Architects.<\/p>\n

The finalists \u2013 whose concepts now feature in an online gallery<\/a> \u2013 will be interviewed by the competition\u2019s advisory panel later this autumn and an overall winner is expected to be announced in early 2026.<\/p>\n

The project is supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is scheduled to open in 2030 to mark the bimillennial of Christ\u2019s baptism. Once completed, it is expected to receive around 400,000\u2212450,000 visitors annually.<\/p>\n

Key aims of the $30 million project include creating a \u2018story-led museum and garden in a sacred place surrounded by a preserved wilderness\u2019 and creating a \u2018global symbol of peace, hope and spiritual renewal\u2019.<\/p>\n

The museum will form the centrepiece of a wider Baptism Development Zone masterplan and is intended to enhance the spiritually significant landscape for pilgrims and visitors from around the world.<\/p>\n

The project is led by the\u00a0Foundation for the Development of the Lands Adjacent to the Baptism Site. Tharwat Al Masalha, chair of the Jordan Foundation\u2019s Board, said: \u2018We are delighted to share seven visions from some of the world\u2019s most talented architects for our new Baptism Museum at Bethany.<\/p>\n

\u2018The museum will help visitors better understand the site\u2019s history and communicate the sacrament of baptism \u2013 the exhilaration of renewal, of new hope.\u00a0We are encouraged that teams have responded to the exceptional setting adjacent to the celebrated UNESCO World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are creating both a living entity that visitors will engage with and cherish, and a legacy: a museum that will be a global symbol of peace and hope. We are looking forward to the detailed assessment and selecting a winner.\u2019<\/p>\n

Malcolm Reading, competition director at Malcolm Reading Consultants, which is managing the competition, said: \u2018We congratulate all the competitors on the quality of their response to a highly complex and ambitious brief. The prize here is to create architecture that is equal to the demands of the climate, resonates with new audiences and is timeless.\u2019<\/p>\n

The finalists
\n\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: AAU Anastas (Palestine \/ France \/ Jordan)<\/p>\n

AAU Anastas (Palestine \/ France \/ Jordan)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Florent Clier; Exhibition Design \u2013 dUCKS; Engineering \u2013 Webb Yates; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Studio Gelatic.<\/p>\n

Located at the intersection of the Great Rift Valley and a deep geological depression, the Baptism Site\u2019s extreme environment, marked by intense heat, low oxygen, and vanishing water, shapes its spiritual and historical meaning. Unlike traditional sacred sites, it is not a monument but a place of transformation, embodying passage, exposure, and fragility.<\/p>\n

The proposed museum responds to this condition not as an object, but as a landscape instrument: a sinuous stone path that guides visitors through light, matter, and climate. Built from local basalt, it blends with the terrain, adapting to native ecologies and environmental extremes. Rather than offer mechanical comfort, it provides thermal awareness \u2013 shade, air, and silence \u2013 emphasizing the sacred through experience.<\/p>\n

Sustainability is understood as embodied intelligence, not technological performance. As water disappears, the museum becomes a vessel for memory, registering environmental shifts and sustaining faith not through preservation, but through a dynamic relationship with the land, time, and atmosphere.
aauanastas.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: heneghan peng architects (Ireland)<\/p>\n

heneghan peng architects (Ireland)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Agence Ter and Lara Zureikat; Exhibition Design \u2013 Cookies; Engineering \u2013 Arup; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Kardorff.<\/p>\n

To preserve the two-thousand-year-old spirituality of Al-Maghtas, the museum immerses itself within geology and bonds with the stratigraphy of its site. It resists the temptation to rely on metaphor or storytelling and listens carefully to the whispers embedded within its land.<\/p>\n

Though the river no longer flows as it once did, its presence endures \u2013 not only in \u00a0memory, but in the land itself. The soil becomes the witness and bearer of that sacred history, retaining the imprint of water long receded. As the land subtly depresses near the museum edge it forms a tributary gesture carved by time now reimagined.<\/p>\n

Along the tributary, water is not always seen, but always possible. When it comes, it moves freely through this line depression \u2013 an image of spiritual and ecological renewal. It allows the land to speak of what it once carried, and what it still might hold again.
hparc.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Fianlist:<\/p>\n

Fianlist: N\u00edall McLaughlin Architects (UK)<\/p>\n

N\u00edall McLaughlin Architects (UK)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Kim Wilkie Landscape; Exhibition Design \u2013 Nissen Richards Studio; Engineering \u2013 Arup; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Studio ZNA.<\/p>\n

The museum is an east-west journey. It combines permanent allegorical elements with flexible galleries. Exhibition spaces are held between deep walls containing displays, circulation, and services. The materials \u2013 rammed earth and stone \u2013 come from the land nearby and can be built by local labour and resources.<\/p>\n

Descending into the earth from an arid wilderness garden you cross a water-filled rift and re-emerge into the light to a fruitful paradise garden. The eastern entrance and western exit face each other across a public square. The facing doorways are a triangle and a circle, emphasizing a life in Christ as the Alpha and Omega.<\/p>\n

Between them, an open stepped landscape rises onto the roof. We imagined it as an elevated archaeological site with mosaic floors between low stone walls. From this raised public space, you can view the valley of the Jordan River and the pilgrimage route to the Baptism Site.
niallmclaughlin.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: Studio Anne Holtrop (Bahrain \/ Netherlands)<\/p>\n

Studio Anne Holtrop (Bahrain \/ Netherlands)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Atelier Miething and Mazen Daqaq; Exhibition Design \u2013 Imagination; Engineering \u2013 Atkins R\u00e9alis; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Rogier van der Heide.<\/p>\n

Our proposal for the Museum of Jesus\u2019 Baptism is situated within a landscape of pristine wilderness. Its setting preserves the natural environment, reflecting the site\u2019s spiritual and historical significance, and aligns with the protected status of the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

The museum is not conceived as a discrete structure placed upon the site; rather, it takes the form of a single, expansive roof that follows the natural topography. The spatial concept is defined by two main elements: the subtle shaping of the landscape to create distinct spatial experiences, and the careful curation of light and shadow in response to the programmatic needs.<\/p>\n

The landscape design honours the site\u2019s symbolic wilderness while enhancing it in understated ways. A tree nursery bridges cultivated and native environments, supporting plant research and transplantation. Green corridors link the museum with the pilgrimage path, offering shade and framing key views. The existing wilderness is preserved to highlight resilient vegetation, natural water management, and the raw climatic character of the site.
anneholtrop.nl<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)<\/p>\n

Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Bureau Bas Smets; Exhibition Design \u2013 Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO; Engineering \u2013 Sener; and Lighting Consultant \u2013\u00a0CUBE.BZ.<\/p>\n

The site lies at the confluence of two complementing forces: the geometric order of the cultivated fields and the organic, meandering flows of the wadi systems. From this meeting point emerges our project, a space shaped by both geometry and water, structure and movement.<\/p>\n

The concept of baptism, rooted in the idea of immersion, becomes our guiding principle. Here, immersion is both physical and spiritual: you enter beneath a vast hovering roof that provides shade, nurtures trees, and hosts the program within. Water is ever-present, circulating through the project, guiding movement, and reappearing as humidity, reflection, and growth. It defines the atmosphere, transforming the space into an experience rather than a building.<\/p>\n

To enter this place is to be immersed in landscape, in light, in water, a contemporary evocation of the baptism of Jesus, where architecture becomes a vessel for education and connection.
tatianabilbao.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)<\/p>\n

Toshiko Mori Architect (US)
With Landscape Design \u2013 West 8; Exhibition Design \u2013 Atelier Tsuyoshi TaneArchitects; Engineering \u2013 Arup; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Kilt Planning.<\/p>\n

Our project for the Museum of Jesus\u2019 Baptism envisions a modest, contemplative sequence of structures \u2013 an expression rooted in humility, authenticity, and reverence for place. Conceived as an ode to the simple dwelling of John the Baptist, the museum is built from local clay and stone using traditional vaulted construction, connecting cultures and faiths across time.<\/p>\n

The design creates a timeless presence that belongs to its setting both physically and spiritually, offering a place where history, faith, and geography converge. The museum unfolds as a series of pavilions and gardens that explore botany, geology, archaeology, and anthropology, revealing how nature, culture, and faith intertwine in this sacred landscape. Woven between the pavilions, the gardens invite wandering, reflection, and engagement with water and light as unifying elements.<\/p>\n

Through restraint and resonance, the project creates a peaceful, reverential experience that honours John the Baptist while celebrating the enduring, universal message of faith and renewal from Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
tmarch.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finalist:<\/p>\n

Finalist: Trahan Architects (US)<\/p>\n

Trahan Architects (US)
With Landscape Design \u2013 Doxiadis+; Exhibition Design \u2013 Ralph Appelbaum Associates; Engineering \u2013 Buro Happold; and Lighting Consultant \u2013 Tillotson Design Associates.<\/p>\n

Every drop of water that falls on the future site of the Museum of Jesus\u2019 Baptism flows to Al-Maghtas on the banks of the Jordan River \u2013 the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jesus\u2019 Baptism. Our proposal honours this sacred story by restoring the ecological network of thin wadis that carry water to the river, healing the fractured watershed.<\/p>\n

The below-grade museum enhances this fragile system, allowing water to flow naturally across the site. Above ground, native plantings restore and shape paths in the landscape, guiding visitors through a wilderness on their contemplative journey. Underground galleries interpret Wilderness, Water, and Witness, each with a courtyard framing the sky and immersive spaces beneath restored wadis.<\/p>\n

The museum is a peaceful node along a pilgrimage route, fostering stillness through humble architecture built from locally sourced rammed earth. Visitors descend into the Earth, then slowly ascend toward the sacred site, mirroring the Baptismal act.
trahanarchitects.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK-based Stirling Prize-winner is one seven teams competing for the commission to create the museum at Bethany…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-234653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}