A tension between presence and disappearance
Sacromonte is landscape. It is a field of relational forces, of ancient intensity and new impulses that jointly create a new, unprecedented entity. Nature, production, infrastructure and the palpable energy of the site configure a field of stimuli to be discovered; a field of experiences.
The Sacromonte Chapel finds its place among vineyards, lagoons, hills, and shelters. Conceived as a landscape amplifier, it blends with its surroundings taking the sensorial experience of nature to a whole new level. Located at one of the highest and unobstructed points of Sacromonte, Spain, it can be seen from far and wide.
What should the sacred spaces of the 21st century be like? This chapel ponders several possible interpretations of this and other questions through its ambiguous relationship with matter, space and time. Feelings of both peace and tension reign: a tension between weight and lightness, presence and disappearance, technology and nature. Enigmatic and mystifying, it leaves its visitors with more questions than answers.
Two 9m x 6m wooden planes rest subtly on one another but without touching. From this simple and unique gesture, a new enclosure is born. Neither closed nor completely open, it is a space in itself but it is part of its environment at the same time. Inside, the planes try to protect and sanctify a small portion of the landscape but respectfully deny its confinement. The concepts of interior and exterior are diluted in a diffuse and ambiguous spatial experience.
The chapel started life in a factory in Portugal. Prefabricated in cross-laminated timber and steel, it was transported directly to the landscape of Sacromonte to be assembled in the course of one day. Simple and austere, its design assumes the challenge of conveying a powerful message using the minimum of resources.
Almost magically, a floating black metallic box breaks the symmetry in a transcendental act. Light enters through its outer face, a sheet of translucent onyx. Inside it, the Virgin of “La Carrodilla” finds shelter and protection.
The chapel coexists harmoniously with nature, letting in winds and storms. It is in some way reminiscent of the most primitive of architectures: one that reunites humans, landscape, and matter with the eternal.
Project: Sacromonte Chapel / Location: Sacromonte, Pueblo edén, Maldonado, Uruguay / Architects: MAPA / Partners: Luciano Andrades, Matías Carballal, Andrés Gobba, Mauricio López, Silvio Machado / Project team: Pablo Courreges, Diego Morera, Emiliano Lago, Fabián Sarubbi, Sandra Rodríguez, Rafael Solano, Agustín Dieste, Alba Álvarez, Miquel Castellà, Marcos Gómara, Victoria Reibakas, Sebastián Lambert, Lucy Braunstein, Marie-Lise Hofstetter, Claire Gardan, Helena Utzig, Joao Bernardi / Structural project: RDA Ingeniería / Factory production: Portilame (Portugal) / Assembly, installation, equipment: MAPA + Cosia y Pombo / Transport: Carrión Transportes / Onyx: Laviere Vitacca / Cross: Taller Capitán / Foundations: Pablo Trucido / Built area: 27m² / Completion: 2017 / Photograph: ©Leonardo Finotti (courtesy of the architect); ©Tali Kimelman (courtesy of the architect)
