Chapel Project: Initial Toughts, Design Goals

DESIGN GOALS: As stated, our main requirements were: "to astound us, astonish us with the play of light within the chapel", develop complelling spaces, strive to evoke sense of sacred architecture in all design, no religious references, use "expressive light", Zen view, "meaningful circulation sequences", beloved detail, incorporate preferred client aesthetics.

Given the openness to the site, and the harsh conditions outside, I'm worried about having to compete with the grandeur of the situation outside, by trying to make a monumental inside. Instead, the below adjectives are words I want my chapel to be described by:

serene
tranquil
comfortable
magical/tolle lege
controlled light
soft/gentle
not extremely intense, over bearing
intimate

I'll improve upon this list, but basically I think I'll need to be less explicit with some of my design statements. For example: the pictures from Marilyn Moyer Meditation Chapel, a design I originally felt would lend itself well to framing the view, is probably too intense of a display for this project.

One of my favorite (if not my favorite) books is Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. It's a fabulous story at multiple levels, and religion, especially non-denominational religion is a theme that runs throughout the book. In regards to the Bibles placed in night stands in hotel rooms, Pi says "I cannot think of a better way to spread the faith. No thundering pulpit, no condemnation from bad churches, no peer pressure, just a book of scripture quietly waiting to say hello, as gentle and powerful as a little girl's kiss on your cheek."


And that final metaphor, that's what I'm going for in this project, NOT the view from Setre Chapel in Kobe. Expect to see something more reserved. Right now, I'm thinking about something kind of like the church above. Maybe play with exposing the view through slits in panels, so the light is much softer, and maybe with an effect so that you can see out only when looking at a slight angle, that way during a service the altar might have more emphasis.