Seven Finalist Designs Revealed for New Museum of Jesus's Baptism at Bethany, Jordan

The year 2030 will mark the bimillenary of Jesus Christ's baptism by John the Baptist—or roughly so, considering the Bible puts Jesus at “about thirty” years old at the time of his baptism. Bethany Beyond the Jordan, now an archaeological site and destination for Christians, is believed to be the site where Jesus's baptism took place. The international competition organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants calls for a “story-led museum and garden” that will serve visitors to the holy site, “offering space for reflection and learning and, depending on the individual, preparing visitors for a profound spiritual connection.” Although clearly Christian-centered, the museum will be “welcoming and inclusive to all.” Funded in part by donations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the museum is expected to welcome between 400,000 and 450,000 visitors annually once it is completed in four years time.

The shortlist for the competition was announced in August, and in the ensuing months the design teams developed their concept proposals into the designs released to the public this week. An eight-member advisory panel will meet later in the fall to interview the finalists and then recommend a winner to the board of the Foundation for the Development of the Lands Adjacent to the Baptism Site. The winner will be announced in early 2026. 

Renderings and texts provided by the architect-led teams are below, but visit the competition website to see additional images of each design.

(With Landscape Design – Florent Clier; Exhibition Design – dUCKS; Engineering – Webb Yates; and Lighting Consultant – Studio Gelatic)

“Located at the intersection of the Great Rift Valley and a deep geological depression, the Baptism Site’s extreme environment, marked by intense heat, low oxygen, and vanishing water, shapes its spiritual and historical meaning. Unlike traditional sacred sites, it is not a monument but a place of transformation, embodying passage, exposure, and fragility. The proposed museum responds to this condition not as an object, but as a landscape instrument: a sinuous stone path that guides visitors through light, matter, and climate. Built from local basalt, it blends with the terrain, adapting to native ecologies and environmental extremes. Rather than offer mechanical comfort, it provides thermal awareness – shade, air, and silence – emphasizing the sacred through experience. Sustainability is understood as embodied intelligence, not technological performance. As water disappears, the museum becomes a vessel for memory, registering environmental shifts and sustaining faith not through preservation, but through a dynamic relationship with the land, time, and atmosphere.”

(With Landscape Design – Agence Ter and Lara Zureikat; Exhibition Design – Cookies; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Kardorff)

“To preserve the two-thousand-year-old spirituality of Al-Maghtas, the museum immerses itself within geology and bonds with the stratigraphy of its site. It resists the temptation to rely on metaphor or storytelling and listens carefully to the whispers embedded within its land.

Though the river no longer flows as it once did, its presence endures – not only in  memory, but in the land itself. The soil becomes the witness and bearer of that sacred history, retaining the imprint of water long receded. As the land subtly depresses near the museum edge it forms a tributary gesture carved by time now reimagined.  

Along the tributary, water is not always seen, but always possible. When it comes, it moves freely through this line depression – an image of spiritual and ecological renewal. It allows the land to speak of what it once carried, and what it still might hold again.”

(With Landscape Design – Kim Wilkie Landscape; Exhibition Design – Nissen Richards Studio; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Studio ZNA) 

“The museum is an east-west journey. It combines permanent allegorical elements with flexible galleries. Exhibition spaces are held between deep walls containing displays, circulation, and services. The materials – rammed earth and stone – come from the land nearby and can be built by local labor and resources. 

Descending into the earth from an arid wilderness garden you cross a water-filled rift and re-emerge into the light to a fruitful paradise garden. The eastern entrance and western exit face each other across a public square. The facing doorways are a triangle and a circle, emphasizing a life in Christ as the Alpha and Omega. Between them, an open stepped landscape rises onto the roof. We imagined it as an elevated archaeological site with mosaic floors between low stone walls. From this raised public space, you can view the valley of the Jordan River and the pilgrimage route to the Baptism Site.”

(With Landscape Design – Atelier Miething and Mazen Daqaq; Exhibition Design – Imagination; Engineering – Atkins Réalis; and Lighting Consultant – Rogier van der Heide)

“Our proposal for the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism is situated within a landscape of pristine wilderness. Its setting preserves the natural environment, reflecting the site’s spiritual and historical significance, and aligns with the protected status of the surrounding area.

The museum is not conceived as a discrete structure placed upon the site; rather, it takes the form of a single, expansive roof that follows the natural topography. The spatial concept is defined by two main elements: the subtle shaping of the landscape to create distinct spatial experiences, and the careful curation of light and shadow in response to the programmatic needs.

The landscape design honors the site’s symbolic wilderness while enhancing it in understated ways. A tree nursery bridges cultivated and native environments, supporting plant research and transplantation. Green corridors link the museum with the pilgrimage path, offering shade and framing key views. The existing wilderness is preserved to highlight resilient vegetation, natural water management, and the raw climatic character of the site.”

(With Landscape Design – Bureau Bas Smets; Exhibition Design – Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO; Engineering – Sener; and Lighting Consultant – CUBE.BZ)

“The site lies at the confluence of two complementing forces: the geometric order of the cultivated fields and the organic, meandering flows of the wadi systems. From this meeting point emerges our project, a space shaped by both geometry and water, structure and movement.

The concept of baptism, rooted in the idea of immersion, becomes our guiding principle. Here, immersion is both physical and spiritual: you enter beneath a vast hovering roof that provides shade, nurtures trees, and hosts the program within.

Water is ever-present, circulating through the project, guiding movement, and reappearing as humidity, reflection, and growth. It defines the atmosphere, transforming the space into an experience rather than a building. To enter this place is to be immersed in landscape, in light, in water, a contemporary evocation of the baptism of Jesus, where architecture becomes a vessel for education and connection.”

(With Landscape Design – West 8; Exhibition Design – Atelier Tsuyoshi TaneArchitects; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Kilt Planning)

“Our project for the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism envisions a modest, contemplative sequence of structures – an expression rooted in humility, authenticity, and reverence for place. Conceived as an ode to the simple dwelling of John the Baptist, the museum is built from local clay and stone using traditional vaulted construction, connecting cultures and faiths across time. The design creates a timeless presence that belongs to its setting both physically and spiritually, offering a place where history, faith, and geography converge.

The museum unfolds as a series of pavilions and gardens that explore botany, geology, archaeology, and anthropology, revealing how nature, culture, and faith intertwine in this sacred landscape. Woven between the pavilions, the gardens invite wandering, reflection, and engagement with water and light as unifying elements. Through restraint and resonance, the project creates a peaceful, reverential experience that honors John the Baptist while celebrating the enduring, universal message of faith and renewal from Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”

(With Landscape Design – Doxiadis+; Exhibition Design – Ralph Appelbaum Associates; Engineering – Buro Happold; and Lighting Consultant – Tillotson Design Associates)

“Every drop of water that falls on the future site of the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism flows to Al-Maghtas on the banks of the Jordan River – the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jesus’ Baptism.

Our proposal honors this sacred story by restoring the ecological network of thin wadis that carry water to the river, healing the fractured watershed. The below-grade museum enhances this fragile system, allowing water to flow naturally across the site.

Above ground, native plantings restore and shape paths in the landscape, guiding visitors through a wilderness on their contemplative journey. Underground galleries interpret Wilderness, Water, and Witness, each with a courtyard framing the sky and immersive spaces beneath restored wadis.

The museum is a peaceful node along a pilgrimage route, fostering stillness through humble architecture built from locally sourced rammed earth. Visitors descend into the Earth, then slowly ascend toward the sacred site, mirroring the Baptismal act.”