CHAPEL OF LIGHT

Propsal and own realization  •  Principal architect Zuzana & Jan Kurz  •  Novohradské Mountains - Pilgrimage landscape

As a symbol of living together in the village Velký Jinřichov we have decided to build our own chapel. Our first joint project. We believe that there is no better way to say: Thank you for this place, we appreciate it. Chapels have always been a strong element in the countryside or in the city. They are a reflection of a life in a respective place, belong to everyone, connect us with something supernatural, that is not quite easy to comprehend. They are associated with connecting us to God, whatever it might be for you. When designing this chapel, we were clearly and inevitably influenced by initial chapels, their shapes, construction, color, smell. However, for this specific chapel we wished to feel the ground under our feet, the essence of the material, the sun intertwining through the fluttering leaves, a silence, a peace, a belonging. With respect to its environment the aim was to create a chapel that is unique and non-transferable. It might be complex in its content, yet simple in its form. The Chapel of Light is built on the original foundations of one of the rooms of a farmhouse, which once stood there.

The main building element of the chapel is stone left over from the original dwellings of the area. Given we believe a stone has its own memory, the Chapel of Light represents not only an ode to the common future, however also a symbolic reference to the history of the region. The particular stones are stacked in the formwork and covered with clay, a way farmhouses used to be built. The base walls rise from the floor plan shape of the original room, widen and round upwards, where they are sloped towards the southern sunny side. The outer surface of the Chapel of Light is overgrown with moss and merges with its surroundings, yet along the inner walls there is a glass mantle enclosed in the entire volume of the chapel, except for its entrance. The inner glass shell is formed by melted residual glass from the area. In its silence and inconspicuousness, the chapel humbly receives the incident rays of sunlight. Upon entering the chapel, you will be filled with a radiant aura. Oh, such a pleasant surprise! And suddenly you just want to be.

Materials

Stone  •  Glass  •  Clay  •  Concrete

All work © KURZ architects

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