Garden Dialogues 2026: Saint Sarkis Community Center
Please reach out to aileen@tclf.org if you have any questions.
Join The Cultural Landscape Foundation, architect David Hotson, and landscape designer Zepur Ohanian for a special Garden Dialogue at the Saint Sarkis Community Center in Carrollton, Texas, which serves the congregation of Saint Sarkis Armenian Church. Hear from Hotson and Ohanian about their collaboration and the design decisions that shaped the landscape of this distinctive five-acre campus with a three-building architectural ensemble. Following the tour, guests can continue the conversation during an intimate reception.
Modeled on Saint Hripsime, a still-active Armenian Apostolic church built in 618 AD that stands in the modern-day Republic of Armenia, Saint Sarkis Church draws on its 1,400-year medieval architectural tradition, reinterpreted through a modern lens.
The Church is approached through a shaded entry courtyard past a reflecting pool set beneath a lightwell that frames a view of the church's dome. The courtyard opens into a quiet, thoughtfully landscaped compound, where the church's entry faces westward across the vast Texas horizon.
The west façade of the church, a contemporary reflection of its 1,400-year-old ancestor situated 8,000 miles away, is intricately etched with a memorial to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenia Genocide of 1915.
The stoic, monochrome architecture is a delightful contrast to the rich, multicolored vegetation, evoking the powerful relationship between monolithic architecture and verdant landscape typical of the ancient church and monastery complexes that still survive throughout Armenia. Bordering the buildings are rows of magnolia and cypress trees that, rising just above the horizon, create a sense of privacy and reverence beneath the vast Texas sky.
The result is a landscape that connects two distant places and histories: the ancient Armenian church tradition that inspired Saint Sarkis and the contemporary Texas landscape in which it stands, creating a powerful dialogue between architecture, landscape, memory, and place.
1.0 LA CES™ professional development hours will be available to attendees, pending approval.
Refund Policy - No refunds will be made for Garden Dialogues
