One of the architects I respect the most, Peter Zumthor, just won the 2009 Pritzker Prize. It's hard for me to choose my favorite project by him (Therme Vals? Kunsthaus Bregenz?), but the St. Benedict Chapel is certainly up there. We had to build a scale model of a building's structural system for a class in architecture school once, and I chose this boat-shaped structure - for its elegant, exposed structural frame, which slips behind the chapel floor and from which the building skin is slightly offset. The structure of the roof is open and visible and the chapel floor floats freely on the joists below. I love the simplicity of the chapel and the elegance of the details and hope to be able to go there in person and to attend a service there some day.
Congratulations on the Pritzker, Mr. Zumthor!
All photo credits belong to Mark McCormick, except for the shot of the roof, which belongs to mamawuren.
What a truly lovely space. Simple and beautiful!
ReplyDelete