carla juaçaba’s vatican chapel disappears into its bucolic setting at the venice biennale

at the 2018 venice architecture biennale, the holy see pavilion comprises ten ‘vatican chapels’ each conceived by a different architect. joining temporary structures by pritzker laureates norman foster and eduardo souto de moura, is a design by brazilian architect carla juaçaba. the scheme comprises four highly-polished steel beams that form a cross and a bench. the entire structure rests on seven pieces of concrete, which, according to the design team, give ‘metric to the ensemble’.

all images by federico cairoli

the beams have been made from stainless steel, allowing them to vibrantly mirror their bucolic setting. however, the reflective nature of carla juaçaba’s chapel also means that the structure may ‘disappear’ at any moment, with the shadow becoming more prominent than the object itself. meanwhile, the bench, which is the same width as the cross, provides a place to sit and contemplate. see designboom’s coverage of the 2018 venice architecture biennale here.

the scheme comprises four highly-polished steel beams

the beams form a cross and a bench

the entire structure rests on seven pieces of concrete

the beams have been made from stainless steel, allowing them to reflect their bucolic setting

an aerial view of the chapel, which is on view in venice until november 25, 2018

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designboom’s coverage of the 2018 venice architecture biennale is in partnership with leading energy company edison. edison is taking part in the 16th international architecture exhibition of la biennale di venezia by initiating a path towards sustainability and the efficient use of resources. the collaboration between edison and la biennale is based on awareness that energy is one of the fundamental elements of architecture and of the places, spaces and cities of contemporary life.