Burning Man Reveals 'Temple of the Heart' Design for 2023 Black Rock City

While the Bay Area braces for another round of wet weather from yet another atmospheric river, the Burning Man community has received news of a drier sort. The Burning Man Project has announced plans and digital renderings for the 2023 Black Rock City Temple.

Named the "Temple of the Heart," the structure was designed by Ela Madej, a San Francisco-based artist with 11 years of experience attending the Burn, and Reed Finlay, an architect from Ojai, California. It is the first physical temple design to be selected in three years because of the pandemic, though a digital temple was raised for the Virtual Burn held in 2021.

The design takes the form of an upside-down desert flower. Its stem rises high above the ground and is meant to serve as both a beacon and a sundial. At the center, a "Heart Chamber" will invite visitors to be still and contemplative, while a walled-off outer ring will hold 12 alcoves, each with seating.

Madej, originally from Kraków, Poland, belongs to the Hotel California camp and is known for building tall structures on the playa. As a mother, she hopes to bring feminine energy to the 2023 temple. Finlay, who is co-lead on the build, will contribute his expertise in sustainable design.

The temple is the second major structure built for each annual event in the desert outside Gerlach, Nevada. The weeklong gathering culminates over Labor Day weekend, when The Man is burned on Saturday night and the temple follows on Sunday night.

The temple functions as a space for healing and worship. Many attendees meditate and pray inside it, and some leave totems honoring lost loved ones to be burned along with the structure in their memory.

Additional details on the Temple of the Heart appear in a post on The Burning Man Journal, the event's official blog, written by Katie Hazard and spec.