Ribbon Chapel

Onomichi, Japan.

This article is about a wedding chapel, designed by the Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura, in Onomichi, Japan. This chapel consists on two different stairways that goes into a doble espiral, which are joined at the top. This model refers to the union of a marriage: the stairways start at different locations and they form a singular estructure at the end.

The structure is designed with glasses, so the people can have a beautiful view of the trees and the coast near the chapel. This creates a close relationship with the surrounding environment. And the external estructure has panels made of titanium zinc, which is resistant to damage from the sea breeze.
And, the top of the structure has an observation platform that is 15.4 meters above the ground, allowing the married to see coastal vistas.

I loved the design of this chapel, and the meaning of its structure.

I think is amazing the fact that in a moment of the wedding, the wife and the husband walk to the top of the building where their paths are connected. But I feel that in some way it has a deeper meaning, and that at the end of their own paths they both unite in order to start a new path together.

But anyways, apart from its magical meaning, I was very impressed with the structure, I really liked the building as it is, that place is like a dream. Or, as the Spanish proverb says: "parece sacado de un cuento" (english: it is like something taken out from a fairy-tail). The fact that is near the sea and has a beautiful environment makes a perfect surrounding. The place fits to the chapel, and the chapel to the place too. It doesn't exist a better place to construct that building that in Onomichi.


Article: http://www.designboom.com/architecture/hiroshi-nakamura-nap-ribbon-chapel-spiral-hiroshima-japan-01-28-2015/