ST JOSEPH CHAPELL

Architecture & Interiors

 

Dedicated to St. Joseph, the chapel is set on a hill with a wide view overlooking Santana, the village nearby.

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Because it's set on a protected natural area, the only possible location to built the chapel was on the footprint of an old construction, which had already been partially converted to guest bedrooms.

 

Our intention was to detach as much as possible the two different uses, which led to positioning the chapel with its back to the rest of the building facing the opposite way, and to rising the pitched roof above the existing one.

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Also became a premise, the design of a well demarcated yard, rising above the natural ground level, forming a plateau to contemplate the natural surrounding beauty, which would be the first level of immersion into the praying mode.

Walls, stairs and an arched entrance with a small cross imprinted on top announce to the visitor that he's entering sacred ground.

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Once in the yard, a large arch coins the main facade and invites to enter the narthex, where two other side arches with a brise soleil filter the light and propose to leave behind the outer world and move further towards abstraction.

Besides preparing the visitor to enter the sacred space, the narthex alone offers an in-between space that can be the destination itself, where one can sit and meditate, contemplating the wilderness, sheltered from the sun and rain.

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A heavy old timber door gives access to the interior featuring a brick barrel vault and an oculus above the altar, through which the morning light floods in.

To the left of the altar, an arch gives onto the sacristy, a small plain space with dim northern light and a sink carved in marble embedded in the wall, where the priest prepares for the ceremony.

 

With a simple plan, traditional architectural elements, local materials and a carefully thought light, the chapel offers the quiet retreat needed for pray.