In a remote corner of Northern California, the monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux held a vision. Not for a new church — but for the resurrection of one lost to time.
Entrusted with something no blueprint could capture: restoring an 800-year-old Cistercian chapter house dismantled in Spain, stored for decades in San Francisco, and destined for spiritual rebirth in Vina.
We helped make history tangible — one sacred stone at a time.
The story began in the 1920s, when William Randolph Hearst purchased the medieval stones of the chapter house of Santa Maria de Ovila. They arrived in California but were never used — left instead in Golden Gate Park for over 60 years.
In the 1990s, the Abbey of New Clairvaux reclaimed them and our journey began to bring them back to life.
Working in close partnership with the monks, architects, engineers, stonemasons, and preservation consultants, we rebuilt the structure with reverence, restraint, and rigorous attention to both history and performance.
The original stones were reused, and each was placed with intention — ensuring the space felt sacred not only to the eye, but to the spirit.
Rebuilding medieval Gothic arches in a 21st-century context required a rare blend of artistry and code expertise.
We sourced matching limestone from Texas to complete the vision, respecting material continuity while meeting seismic, energy, and accessibility standards. The design was contemplative by design: no unnecessary flourishes, no contemporary disruption — just calm, order, and stillness in form.
This wasn’t just about aesthetics. It was about purpose. The building now stands as the oldest functioning in California — and perhaps the quietest.
Just steps away from the sacred structure, we also partnered with the Abbey to design and construct the New Clairvaux Vineyard, a one-of-a-kind winery set on historic land once owned by Leland Stanford. Built in 2011 in collaboration with Lassen Design Studio, the vineyard destination blends simplicity and beauty — reflecting the same Cistercian values of stewardship and craft that shape every detail of the monastery.
From ancient stones to living vines, the site now invites visitors into a fuller experience of stillness, reflection, and connection to land.
The final space was not built for tourism, but for prayer.
Visitors step into a stillness that feels as if it’s been there forever. Light filters through Gothic arches. Silence carries. The stones speak.
As builders, we are not the focus — the building is. The monks are. The moment is. Our job was to make sure history, humility, and holiness are all part of the finished form.
The Abbey’s new chapter house opened in 2018 as a new church, more than 800 years after its original construction.
Sunseri Associates is proud to have helped create a space where architecture meets devotion, and where the future honors the past with every stone in place.
