ARCHITECT

MARIO BOTTA

PROJECT

GARNET CHAPEL IN PENKENJOCH, ZILLERTAL 2013

The chapel gets its name from the local stone – garnet – whose chemical structure is in the shape of a dodecahedron. The chapel is on top of a mountain and to the north it overlooks the Zillertal, the deep valley beneath. To the south the chapel overlooks a pool that collects the waters to be used during the winter for artificial snow. The area, reachable by a cableway from Finkenberg, offers various tourist facilities for skiing and hiking.

The new building, in the shape of a rhombic dodecahedron set on a concrete base, has a wooden structure covered with sheets of Corten steel on the outside. From the concrete base, a staircase leads to the interior, where the visitor perceives the evenness of the geometrical space at a single glance. From the upper side of the prism filters the light that brings to life the even surfaces of the walls, clad in larch wood lath. The magic of this space is uninterrupted thanks to the light that comes streaming onto the walls, whose identical regular shapes produce different effects, depending on the time of day.

source: Mario Botta