Concept of the design
At a place that is ranged with rural landscapes and peaceful valleys of the Shiga prefecture, this chapel was built on the foot of the mountain.
The first thing that came to mind when we first saw the ground was the Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut.
Of course it is dream from far away on the mountain peak, a very symbolic thought…
And this wasn’t at a fine location.
But, looking halfway up the mountain, it made me want to build a Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut.
However, the way it was build was not the same.
The construction of the building just adapt to the surrounding environment and not having the walls stand up.
One of the attempt was to make use of the difference of the ground level and mould the roof into a movement.
Through that, we have created an ecological building that is one with the hill.
Again, testing the structure, we placed several of the concrete blocks that are similar to a box culvert, and connect the concrete slab as if it were a ringed roof being hanged.
Even though it is a low-costing project, we wanted to create a unique space by covering the left-over, open wall and roof with glass and wooden frameworks for its unique structure.