ITHACA, NEW YORK – When Venerable Tenzin Choesang first met with HOLT Architects in 2016 , he shared a single photograph. The image showed the Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace in Tibet, a structure steeped in centuries of Buddhist tradition and architectural heritage. His request was direct: “I need to build exactly like this.”
For many architecture firms, such a declaration might have signaled a straightforward replication project. But Steve Hugo, the principal in charge, recognized something deeper in that moment.
“If somebody’s seen a piece of architecture and they say they really love the way they did this; it’s already been done before,” Hugo said. “That’s the part where we have to distill, architecturally, what it is that they’re trying to achieve, so that we can accomplish it in their very individual way.”
That conversation launched a seven year collaboration between HOLT Architects and Namgyal Monastery, resulting in His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama Library & Learning Center. The award-winning facility is the only of its kind in North America.
The 9,230-square-foot building, which opened in 2023, represents far more than an architectural accomplishment. It is proof of what can happen when architects take the time to truly understand the people they serve. Instead of offering one-size-fits-all answers, the team shaped its entire approach around the client’s needs and process, and created a space that reflects their vision rather than forcing them into a predetermined mold.
Starting Without a Map
The Dalai Lama project began with an unusual set of parameters, or more accurately, without them.
“They came and said, we want to build a library. We don’t have a budget, we don’t have a program,” Hugo recalled. For an industry that typically operates within defined constraints and detailed briefs, this presented both a challenge and an opportunity.
Rather than viewing the lack of specifications as an obstacle, HOLT recognized it as an invitation to a different kind of partnership. The firm’s role expanded beyond traditional architectural services to include helping the monastery establish fundamental questions: What could be built? How much money needed to be raised? What programming could the space actually support?
“That’s what they needed from us,” Hugo shared. They needed our assistance in helping to establish what could be built, depending on how much money would be raised, and then ultimately how much space and program we could build.”
Venerable Choesang, who serves as professor and president of Namgyal Monastery, came to the project with complete candor about his knowledge gaps. “Of course, I have zero knowledge about the construction, especially in America or western countries,” he says. “The buildings, all these things, are totally different from our Tibetan tradition.”
That honesty became the foundation for trust.
HOLT worked with a committee of two: Venerable Tenzin Choesang and Ngawang Dhondup, the head of facilities. Communication flowed exclusively through these two representatives, who carried the responsibility of presenting designs to the Dalai Lama and his trustees in India. This created a unique dynamic where approval processes stretched across continents and time zones, requiring patience and flexibility from the entire design team.
“It’s really quite difficult to deal with people who have full knowledge about “design” and construction,” Venerable Choesang explained with humility. “But we worked very well because those people are such wonderful people. Steve and his team are such wonderful people. I always trust them and I believe them, and I have confidence, 100 percent. That’s why the building is built as we planned, without any problem.”
Seven Paths to One Vision
Early in the process, HOLT held a design charrette at its office gathering about a dozen employees to explore possibilities. The team developed seven distinct concepts for the building. They deliberately presented a full spectrum of architectural approaches.
“We felt it was part of our responsibility to sort of throw all options on the table,” Hugo explained. “When you saw them side by side, they were completely different architectural representations. We value that process, even though six of them get thrown to the wayside. That gives the client confidence that they explored so many options, that they know they’ve selected the right one.”
This approach reflects HOLT’s broader philosophy about client relationships. Founded in 1963, the Ithaca-based firm has built its reputation not on a signature style but on what principals Steve Hugo, Paul Levesque, Kelly Maher, and Quay Thompson describe as radical adaptability. Their portfolio spans affordable housing, healthcare facilities, higher education buildings and community spaces throughout New York State, each project bearing the distinct fingerprints of its users rather than the architects’ ego.
“Every client’s different,” Hugo said. “There isn’t a cookie cutter solution, either architecturally or process wise. I think a lot of architects might miss out on the idea that the process might need to be different or should be different.”
Hugo: ‘We Didn’t Know How Amazingly Beautiful the Ornamental Hand Paintings Were Going to Be’
The finished library embodies what Hugo describes as “cultural synthesis” rather than imitation. From a distance, the exterior recalls the proportions and forms of Tibetan palaces. Up close, larger window openings, modern materials and structural innovations reveal a contemporary building shaped for light, access and long-term performance.
“We felt this building should express cultural synthesis,” Hugo said. “There are aspects that feel very traditional Tibetan in their proportions. But if you placed it beside a Tibetan palace, you’d notice the larger windows and how much more natural light fills the spaces.”
Those design choices are practical as well as symbolic. The library functions as a modern learning environment, complete with reading rooms, bookshelves and presentation areas. High-performance glazing increases energy efficiency while brightening interiors.
Inside, pendant fixtures in the colors of Tibetan prayer flags hang in intentionally irregular patterns, evoking mountain trails across the Himalayas. “It’s a metaphor for the pilgrimage tens of thousands of Tibetans made across the Himalayas on pray flag marked trails. ,” Hugo said.
The Great Hall faces west, allowing the statue of Budda the ultimate view of the rolling hills and valleys.. A meditation garden transforms the space beneath a staircase into a quiet sanctuary with a stone sculpture and wooden bench. Even the building’s orientation reflects theological considerations, not just functional ones.
Throughout design, Venerable Choesang mentioned that monks would hand paint columns and cornices after construction. Most architects might hesitate at the idea of clients applying finishes, but Hugo took it in stride.
“Normally we might respond with concern,” he admitted with a smile. “But this was part of embracing another culture. We didn’t know how amazingly beautiful the ornamental hand paintings would be, or that they had that ability.”
The results now speak for themselves. Intricate Buddhist motifs cover interior surfaces, applied by monks whose artistic traditions stretch back generations.
The Collaborative Imperative
For HOLT Architects, now a 40-person firm with offices in Ithaca and Syracuse, the Dalai Lama Library is both an outlier and a perfect expression of their core values. Few clients bring photos of Tibetan palaces, but every project requires the same foundation: deep listening, process flexibility and genuine partnership.
“Everything we do is a form of communication,” Hugo said. “Whether it’s drawings for a contractor or presenting a concept to a client, we’re always translating words into imagery and ideas.”
That kind of translation demands more than technical skill. It requires cultural sensitivity, patience with uncertainty and a willingness to question assumptions. When Venerable Choesang brought limited construction knowledge, HOLT responded with education and options rather than prescriptive solutions. When approvals stretched across months and continents, the firm adapted timelines and communication styles.
“The owner’s influence and the collaborative process are essential and non expendable in a HOLT project,” firm leadership explained. “Our diverse and award-winning portfolio exists because we approach every client and every project differently.”
The philosophy has earned recognition beyond completed buildings. HOLT has been named a Central New York Business Journal “Best Places to Work” for 12 straight years, receiving special distinction in 2024 as the only firm honored that long. In 2025, the firm won three AIA Central New York awards, including citations for the Dalai Lama Library and other projects integrating environmental, social and technological innovation.
Perhaps the highest praise comes from clients like Venerable Choesang, whose early uncertainty gave way to trust. “I always trust them and believe them,” he said.
As HOLT looks ahead, lessons from the monastery project endure. The firm remains committed to creating “enduring, sustainably designed environments that enhance quality of life,” whether in affordable housing, healthcare or education. The approach stays constant.
“In practice, we try to understand that every client is different,” Hugo said. “There isn’t a cookie-cutter solution.”
On a hillside in Ithaca, a library now stands as proof. Traditional Tibetan motifs meet contemporary forms. A meditation garden tucks beneath a staircase. Prayer flag colors brighten reading rooms. Visitors of all backgrounds find invitation rather than barrier, bridge rather than wall.
“This building is a bridge to another culture,” Hugo reflected. “They want different cultures and religions to learn from each other.”
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