eriko kasahara sculpts delicate, undulating st. wave chapel in japan

architecture designed to evoke a bridal veil

The St. Wave Chapel, designed by Eriko Kasahara of Kasahara Design Work in collaboration with OTAdesign’s Yumiko Ota, has been completed in Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture. With its undulating interiors, the chapel is part of a larger wedding complex, offering a serene space for ceremonies for design- and architecturally-minded couples. The project takes shape with symbolic inspiration alongside modern building techniques, lending a space that reflects the elegance and spiritual significance of its program.

The larger wedding complex in which the chapel is located is built alongside the Moto-Arakawa River and consists of two distinct areas. One is a wedding building, which houses the chapel and hosts ceremonies. The second is a shop building dedicated to wedding-related businesses. The wedding building, where the chapel sits, reaches a height of nineteen meters, creating a prominent presence within the landscape.

images © Nacasa & Partners

Contrasting Interior: an undulating ceiling

The exterior design of the St. Wave Chapel stands out with its interlocking flat roof structure, which fluidly unifies with the exterior walls. This integration creates a sharp, continuous shape, presenting a sense of solidity and modernity. With this minimalist and cohesive approach by designer Eriko Kasahara and studio OTAdesign, the project exaggerates the building’s sharp lines and lends a contrast with the softer elements found within the chapel’s interior.

Located on the second floor of the wedding building, the St. Wave Chapel’s interior offers a surprising contrast to its angular exterior. The ceiling, soaring to a height of 11.87 meters, features softly curved shapes that evoke a sense of gentle fluidity. The name St. Wave draws inspiration from this interior form, symbolizing the image of a bride’s veil flowing down the aisle. As the couple proceeds, these ‘waves’ seem to expand, representing the unbounded and flowing happiness of the moment.

Koshigaya City’s St. Wave chapel has been designed by Eriko Kasahara

the symbolic freestanding frame by eriko kasahara

A defining feature of the St. Wave chapel is its freestanding frame, designed to evoke the undulating waves that inspired the chapel’s name. This frame, composed of 54 millimeter-diameter steel pipes, arches to a height of 8.5 meters and is connected by thinner 17.3 millimeter pipes. The frame forms eight spans, symbolizing the expanding waves of a veil. The structural integrity of this frame is achieved through horizontal connections, allowing it to stand independently while symbolizing the joy and continuity which the project encapsulates.

While the white steel frame provides structural support, it also contributes to the sacred atmosphere within the chapel. Its delicate form, evoking a floating cloth, softly diffuses natural light entering the chapel while subtly absorbing light from below.

the wedding building features a 19-meter-high structure with a seamless roof and wall design