The idea of getting married in a church has never really felt like me, but long rectangular windows, solemn concrete structures, sleek oakwood pews, downright heavenly skylights, and breathtaking views of nature most certainly do. Add to that the signature of modernist gods like Le Corbusier, Matisse, or Rothko and I’m basically sold. Here is a curated collection of chapels and other spiritual spaces from around the world to which and in which I’d gladly say I do. And if you do find yourself booking one of these for your wedding - call me, I know exactly what the invitations should look like.
I’ve borrowed most of the text below from various design magazines and blogs because I realized that writing about architecture isn’t really my forte, but I’ve linked to each of the articles at the end. I’d recommend reading them all as there are lots of interesting details and stories behind each project. Like the 10cm gap Le Corbusier left between the structure and the roof to allow a sliver of light in. Or the little shrine to the patron saint of winemakers that was included in the open air chapel in Uruguay. Or the vestments designed by Matisse that I’d petition to be adopted by priests and preachers worldwide.
Stay inspired and stay spiritual, or spirited —
A.
Rothko Chapel, Houston Texas
The Rothko Chapel is a spiritual space, a forum for world leaders, a place for solitude and gathering. It’s an epicenter for civil rights activists, a quiet disruption, a stillness that moves. It’s a destination for the 100,000 people of all faiths who visit each year from all parts of the world. The space contains 14 murals created by American artist Mark Rothko.
Outside, Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk rises above the reflecting pool on the Plaza. The sculpture is dedicated to The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose active outer life in service of social justice, informed by a deeply spiritual interior life, resonated with founders John and Dominique de Menil. See more on the Rothko Chapel website.
Architecture: Philip Johnson, Howard Barnstone & Eugene Aubry (in collaboration with Mark Rothko) and Skylight by George Sexton Associates | Photography Paul Hester
CHAPEL AND MEDITATION ROOM, PORTUGAL
Architect Nicholas Burns has hidden a chapel made from concrete amongst trees and granite boulders on a large private estate in northern Portugal. Fittingly named Chapel and Meditation Room, the project was commissioned by the estate's owners who wanted a space for both private and group reflection on the grounds.
Australian-born and Bali-based architect Burns was given full rein on its design and location within the thirty-hectare site. He decided to build the chapel on a knoll bounded by gullies and covered in rocks and dense foliage, which grants it a protective and isolated feeling. Its form responds directly to this setting, with a curving exterior that slots between the boulders and tree trunks. While minimising damage to nature, this is hoped to make the chapel appear as part of the landscape. See more on Dezeen.
Architecture: Nicholas Burns | Photography: Peter Bennetts
Santuario de la Salle, The Philippines
Santuario de La Salle by Carlos Arnaiz Architects (CAZA) is a refreshing take on traditional religious architecture at the De La Salle University campus in Biñan City, the Philippines. The church and community hub is exemplary of CAZA’s practice and sensitivity for exploring how architecture can 'shape meaningful experiences, enhance its context [and] connect people to place and heritage’. See more on Wallpaper magazine.
Architecture: Carlos Arnaiz Architects | Photography: Rory Gardiner
Sacromonte Chapel, Uruguay
Architecture studio MAPA designed this prefabricated wooden open air chapel for a vineyard in Maldonado, Uruguay, puncturing a black box through one of its slanted walls to provide a shrine for the patron saint of winemakers. "Simple and austere, its design assumes the challenge of conveying a powerful message using the lowest amount of resources possible," said MAPA in a statement. See more on Dezeen.
Architecture: MAPA | Photography by Tali Kimelman
Capela do Monte, Portugal
This simple countryside chapel in the south of Portugal was conceived to function without electricity, heat or running water. The building is designed to naturally heat and cool itself passively, thanks to the use of carefully selected materials. Its thick walls are made from perforated bricks, which are coated both internally and externally in a limestone render. Accessed only by a single footpath, the chapel's most distinctive feature is its simple U-shaped facade, which fronts a terrace that is raised up from the hillside. Set behind this facade is an opening that allows sunlight to filter down into the building's open-air entrance lobby. See more on Dezeen.
Architecture: Álvaro Siza Viera | Photography: Joao Morgado
La Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut, France
Completed in 1954, the Ronchamp chapel was built for a Catholic church on a pre-existing pilgrimage site. The previous stone building had been largely destroyed during the second world war. It is considered one of the most important buildings of the 20th century, and represents a key shift away from the sparse, functionalist form of Modernism that Le Corbusier displayed in his earlier projects.
The main structure consists of thick masonry walls, which are curved to improve stability and provide structural support. The monumental curved concrete roof is a shell structure supported by columns hidden in the walls. A gap underneath allows a sliver of light to filter into the interior. See more on Dezeen.
Architecture: Le Corbusier | Photography: Flickr
SAINT MARY’S STUDENT CHAPEL, CALIFORNIA
A sculptural volume that recalls a church steeple rises high above a concrete chapel in the San Francisco Bay Area, designed by American studio Mark Cavagnero Associates. The Chapel for Saint Mary's is located on the grounds of a Catholic school in Albany, a town neighbouring Berkeley. The building serves the students of Saint Mary's College High School, many of whom come from low-income families and receive scholarships.
The building is mean to act as both a "liminal threshold and restorative retreat," said Mark Cavagnero Associates, a San Francisco-based firm started in 1988. "The chapel, while belonging to a Catholic school, was considered as a nondenominationally spiritual space – one that invites the challenges and difficulties of young adulthood to be considered and processed in a sacred, silent and light-filled space," the studio said. See more on Dezeen.
Architecture: Mark Cavagnero Associates | Photography: Henrik Kam
Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence
The Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence (Chapel of the Rosary), often referred to as the Matisse Chapel or the Vence Chapel is located in the town of Vence on the French Riviera. It was dedicated to the Dominican Order. The church was built and decorated between 1947 and 1951 under a plan devised by artist Henri Matisse.
It houses a number of Matisse original works and was regarded by Matisse as his masterpiece. He began the project aged 77 and spent more than four years working on the chapel, its architecture, stained-glass windows, interior murals and ceramics, liturgical furnishings, and the priests' vestments. While the simple white exterior has drawn mixed reviews from casual observers, some regard it as one of the great religious structures of the 20th century. See more on Wikipedia.
Architecture: Henri Matisse | Photography: Claude Almodovar