Mound, hearth, enclosure, roof, and column. The way we see it, Gottfried Semper and scholars already figured out what makes honest tectonic form. We're looking for the element that satisfies our primitive urge to value architecture that's good.

January 5th 2012

25 notes

Capela Árvore da Vida
by: Cerejeira Fontes Architects - Imago Atelier de Arquitectura e Engenharia
in: Braga, Portugal

This hefty timber chapel located inside the existing Conciliar Seminary of Braga serves as a small space for mediation and worship for residents.  Called the “Tree of Life Chapel”, we love the way the 20 tons of wood appears weightless, while still feeling like it would offer a warm, intimate embrace.  The elevated platform and slatted enclosure pulls people up and inside to the central gathering space.  It’s constructed without fasteners and stacked in a way for both natural light to enter and for a soft glow to radiate outwards.  We sure hope its visitors have counted their blessings for such a stunning space, but given the user group, we’re guessing that’s probably not an issue.

Posted at 2:54pm and tagged with: mound, enclosure, hearth, wood, braga, portugal, Cerejeira Fontes Architects, architecture, chapel, design, worship, meditate, interior, religious,.

Capela Árvore da Vidaby: Cerejeira Fontes Architects - Imago Atelier de Arquitectura e Engenhariain: Braga, PortugalThis hefty timber chapel located inside the existing Conciliar Seminary of Braga serves as a small space for mediation and worship for residents.  Called the “Tree of Life Chapel”, we love the way the 20 tons of wood appears weightless, while still feeling like it would offer a warm, intimate embrace.  The elevated platform and slatted enclosure pulls people up and inside to the central gathering space.  It’s constructed without fasteners and stacked in a way for both natural light to enter and for a soft glow to radiate outwards.  We sure hope its visitors have counted their blessings for such a stunning space, but given the user group, we’re guessing that’s probably not an issue.