make your fridays matter with a well-read weekend

 

John Pawson creates a chapel of wood logs for cyclists in Germany

British architect John Pawson constructed the Wooden Chapel, one of seven chapels to be built for cyclists as a place for shelter, in Unterliezheim, Germany.

by Meghna MehtaPublished on : Aug 01, 2019

British architectural designer John Pawson became part of a longstanding tradition of erecting chapels as spiritual and architectural features in the landscape, after he was commissioned by the Siegfried and Elfriede Denzel Foundation to design a wayside chapel for a site in southwestern Germany.

The Siegfried and Elfriede Denzel Foundation is the initiator of the project Sieben Kapellen or Seven Chapels, whose purpose is to provide cyclists with a series of places in which to take shelter, but also to pause and reflect. This could represent a pilgrimage of the new age and an attempt towards establishing a sacred journey by the torch bearers for generations to come.

A common brief for the construction of all the seven chapels specified timber construction, with a cross in the vicinity and provision of seating.

Pawson, who designed one of the seven chapels – Wooden Chapel - recalled his first visit to the site, “I quickly formed the intention that people should encounter the chapel as a found object at the transitional point between the forest and open ground, rather than as a conventional work of architecture. The structure is, thus, framed as the simplest of gestures.” From certain perspectives, its mass appears as a pile of logs stacked up to dry; from others, the considered placement of the elements on a concrete plinth creates a more formal impression of a piece of sculpture.

Building in solid wood was the logical response to the chapel’s setting, as was the decision to subject the timber to minimum intervention. Openings cut into the envelope express the thickness of the wood, while a narrow entry deliberately recreates the sense of physical proximity encountered as one moves through the dense woods. Pawson collaborated with the Danish company, Dinesen, for the project; a company that he has worked with on multiple occasions.

  • The layout plan| Wooden Chapel | John Pawson | STIR
    The layout plan Image Credit: John Pawson
  • Longitudinal Section | Wooden Chapel | John Pawson | STIR
    Longitudinal Section Image Credit: John Pawson
  • Lateral Section | Wooden Chapel | John Pawson | STIR
    Lateral Section Image Credit: John Pawson
  • Orientation Diagram | Wooden Chapel | John Pawson | STIR
    Orientation Diagram Image Credit: John Pawson
  • Location Plan | Wooden Chapel | John Pawson | STIR
    Location Plan Image Credit: John Pawson

Inside the chapel the glory of the cut timber can be felt instantly – in its warm hues, tactile surfaces, and the patterns of the sawn grain. Light levels have been kept deliberately low. Narrow clerestories set high along the length of the chapel on both sides allow a controlled influx of natural light to filter gently downwards through the space. The resulting dimness of the environment helps focus attention on the other two sources of light: on the elevated cross of coloured glass set into the end wall and on a low unglazed opening that graphically frames a view outward across the landscape, orientated to the church spire of the nearby village of Unterliezheim.

The scale, the simplicity, and the purpose of this church is clear in its making. Contrary to churches having high vaulted ceilings and layers of clerestory light filtering into the interiors to create a magical glow, the Wooden Chapel offers all the magic with the use of the same concepts for light, spatiality and spirituality, making one feel close to nature and god.

Name of the project: Wooden Chapel
Location: Unterliezheim, Germany
Client: Siegfried and Elfriede Denzel Foundation
Year: 2017-2018
Area: 30 sqm
Architect: John Pawson
Design team: Jan Hobel, Eleni Koryzi, Max Gleeson
Construction: Gumpp & Maier

What do you think?

About Author

Recommended

LOAD MORE
see more articles
5081,5156,5150,5123,5019

make your fridays matter

SUBSCRIBE
This site uses cookies to offer you an improved and personalised experience. If you continue to browse, we will assume your consent for the same.
LEARN MORE AGREE