At AIA26, the Interfaith Design Knowledge Community (IDKC) advanced its mission to encourage and support excellence in the design of worship spaces and their accoutrements through a rich slate of programs that engaged architects, designers, students, and allied professionals. As an association committed to fostering an interfaith forum for the exchange of ideas relating to religion, art, and architecture, IDKC used the conference as an opportunity to broaden its reach and deepen conversations about the role of sacred space in contemporary practice.
Collaborative Forum
The Collaborative Forum served as a warm, open, and safe environment for attendees to share insights about designing worship spaces across traditions. Participants reflected on emerging needs in sacred architecture, the evolving role of community in religious environments, and the importance of designing for inclusivity, ritual, and meaning. Conversations also touched on the growing impact of AI on design practice and the unique challenges small firms face when pursuing faith based projects. These discussions will directly inform future IDKC programming, ensuring that our work continues to reflect the lived experiences and aspirations of practitioners in the field.
Faith & Form Religious Architecture & Art Awards
AIA26 also highlighted the 2026 Faith & Form International Awards for Religious Architecture & Art, a program founded in 1978 to honor excellence in the creation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of religious buildings, as well as liturgical art and sacred landscape design. This year’s award recipients demonstrated the breadth and vitality of contemporary sacred design—from innovative new worship spaces to sensitive restorations and transformative artistic interventions. The awards continue to serve as a benchmark for quality and a celebration of the global community of designers working in religious contexts.
IDKC Facilitated Tour: Three Contextual Southern California Sacred Spaces
IDKC helped bring to life a sold out architectural tour exploring three significant worship environments in Northern San Diego County:
- The Church of the Nativity, Rancho Santa Fe — a collaboration between Charles Moore, Ruble and Yudell, and AVRP Studios
- Village Presbyterian Church, Rancho Santa Fe — part of a multi building campus designed by domusstudio architecture
- St. Thérèse of Carmel, Carmel Valley — a Catholic campus featuring work by Hyndman and Hyndman and domusstudio architecture
Led by architects David Pfeifer, AIA, and David Keitel, AIA, the tour offered participants firsthand insight into contextual design, vernacular interpretation, and the collaborative processes that shape sacred environments. Attendees explored how architecture can create continuity, hierarchy, and a sense of place while responding to community needs and local history.
Self Guided Map: San Diego Faith Based Architectural Landmarks
To extend learning beyond scheduled programming, IDKC curated a self guided map of 11 faith based architectural landmarks across the San Diego region. The collection spans a century of design and includes synagogues, Catholic churches, a mosque, a Methodist campus, and the Self Realization Fellowship Temple designed by Paramahansa Yogananda.
From Irving Gill’s 1920 Sacred Heart Chapel to the Byzantine Moorish dome of Ohr Shalom Synagogue and the Spanish Colonial Revival grandeur of the Immaculata, the map invited attendees to explore how sacred architecture reflects the layered cultural history of Southern California. While not all sites were walkable from the convention center, each offered a unique lens into the ways communities express identity, memory, and spirituality through built form.
Looking Ahead
AIA26 reaffirmed the importance of IDKC’s mission: to foster understanding, dialogue, and excellence in the design of sacred spaces across traditions. Through forums, awards, tours, and curated resources, we continue to build a community where architects can explore how design shapes spiritual experience and how sacred spaces, in turn, shape culture.
The conversations sparked at this year’s conference demonstrated a growing interest in this work. We look forward to welcoming new members, expanding our programming, and continuing to elevate the role of religious architecture within the broader design profession.