A striking architectural installation called the 'Temple of Darkness Bakhoor Bakhoor Pavilion' has been unveiled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, serving as both an artistic statement and a gesture of solidarity with Gaza. The outdoor experiential installation, designed by Bunga Design Atelier, reimagines the traditional concept of a temple as a space for reflection rather than worship, emphasizing darkness over light.
The 10-square-meter pavilion, completed in 2025, draws inspiration from the ritual of burning bakhoor, where fragrant wood releases sacred fumes into the air. Lead architect Mior Aizuddin Fahmi, working alongside team members Hafiz Sahar, Aliqhwan Azraei, Iqram Sazali, Adib Dzulfikry, and Zulhilmi Fauzan, conceived the structure as a contemporary temple born from smoke, scent, and silence.
The installation features folded geometries and pyramid-like planes, constructed from elemental materials including sand, clay, timber, and incorporating fire as a design element. The structure stands as both altar and vessel, creating a sensorial darkness that envelops visitors in a contemplative chamber where sight yields to scent, memory, and breath. Built on a 3-meter by 3-meter by 5-meter steel frame system, the pavilion maintains clean, angular forms while ensuring durability and construction simplicity.
The pyramid-like inner space was carefully constructed as an insert within the frame and lined with burnt timber, while the outer skin features timber boards clad with clay plaster applied to create rhythm and tactility on the facade. The entire structure sits on raised supports with charcoal chippings beneath, protecting it from ground moisture and visually lifting it slightly off the landscape.
Inside the pavilion, the atmosphere transforms dramatically as visitors enter a pyramidal interior volume fully clad in dark, burnt timber. The charred surface adds depth and tactile rawness, drawing attention to light, sound, and material in heightened ways. A triangular opening frames the city skyline view with a Palestinian Ayn (eye) motif at its center front, serving as a symbolic reminder to reflect on Palestine's situation.
A central skylight opening filters natural light into the heart of the pavilion, creating striking moments where light meets texture. An incense pit made of clay invites visitors to interact with the installation through the act of burning bakhoor as a welcoming ritual, filling the space with smoke and emphasizing the sunlight that filters inside.
The architects describe their creation as more than just a structure built for gods, but rather as a space designed for humanity – a place to pause, to mourn, and to resist. Through smoke and shadow, the installation speaks of absence and transformation, of lives lost and voices silenced. The project explicitly rejects occupation and the ongoing devastation in Gaza, transforming ritual into resistance and architecture into empathy.
Constructed with modest materials including clay, timber, and steel, the pavilion demonstrates how architectural restraint can create powerful spaces for reflection, imagination, and calm. In an era when architecture often attempts to communicate too many messages simultaneously, this installation holds back, and in that restraint, creates meaningful space for contemplation.
The pavilion stands as what its creators describe as a silent prayer and an act of defiance, a spatial offering to 'Free Palestine' and to honor all who endure under oppression. In the quiet burn of its interior, the 'Temple of Darkness' invites each visitor to confront fragility, to remember, and to find light within the ash, making it both an architectural achievement and a powerful statement of solidarity.
