Woodland Chapel Study

Critical Composition: Architectural Presence

The presence of architecture of the woodland chapel is generated through sequence, plan, section, and offset of marble wall modules. Though being a small and minimalistic design of a building, Eduardo Souto de Moura made the logical sequence of the entry space, and the alter space. From the transition between the entry space to the main altar space, visitors gets immersed into a holy atmosphere due to the spatial manipulation of the design. From the plan, the sides of the building is tilted outwards from the view of the threshold as the section gives way to a downwards incline, giving the space a deeper and wider depth of feel to the viewer. The way the section and plan works in relation to generate a spiritual atmospheric space is successful with the aid of the horizontal crevices from each individual wall module; highlighting the increase in depth of the interior walls. In addition, the offset of the walls and sitting space adds a dynamic shift towards the space, creating an artificial distance of the space and at the same time encouraging the viewers to walk closer to the altar.