Daniel Bonilla Arquitectos‘s latest project is an open chapel in La Calera, Colombia that is gently nestled into the surroundings. The simplicity of the geometry adds a touch of elegance to the pious space, as the natural features of the environment, wind and light, create “an essential harmony.”
More images after the break.
The design appeases both small private groups and large public functions as large doors can transform the chapel from a still volume to a “mobile space”. This relationship represents “the passage between two worlds, between the known and the unknown, the light and the darkness.
“As the door opens, a mystery is revealed, and has a dynamic and psychological value, not only showing us a landscape, but inviting us to pass trough it. When the chapel changes size, the space for the altar turns into the space for the choir, the main nave transforms into the lateral nave and the tabernacle becomes part of the landscape.”
Material wise, the rigid structures are stones, while the mobile body is made of steel, glass and wood in an interwoven design. The reflecting pond, on one of the chapel’s sides, dilutes the massive structure into the landscape, and it also accents and distorts the volume to make its density to fade away.
Check out other projects by Daniel Bonilla previously featured on AD.
Location: La Calera, ( Bogotá ) – Colombia.
Architect: Daniel Bonilla Design Team: Daniel Bonilla, Akira Kita, Ana Lucia Cano Photos: Depending on the photograph: Alberto Fonseca or Natalia Borda.
As seen on the Contemporist.
