nicholas burns creates ‘the chapel’ as a place of meditation in sculptural concrete

the gestural volumes of the project are informed by the densely forested natural context.

kat barandy March 1, 2021 2 min

nestled within the forested hills of northern portugal, ‘the chapel and meditation room’ by studio nicholas burns introduces a space of quiet reflection. the project is realized as an assemblage of sculptural concrete volumes which result in a composition of monumental, curving surfaces and a highly controlled lighting condition. located atop a vast, thirty-hectare site, the chapel offers a place of isolation for either private or group meditation as it overlooks the distant landscape.

nicholas burns chapel
image by peter bennetts

to ensure an atmosphere of seclusion, bali-based studio nicholas burns situates the chapel and meditation room along a site dense with rocks and foliage. the gestural volumes of the project are informed by this natural context, as the surfaces sweep and pinch to slot in between the trees and granite boulders. while seeking to minimize its impact on its surroundings, the resulting structure is suggestive of a naturally occuring landform emerging from its site — both respecting its surroundings and integrating into them.

nicholas burns chapel
image by peter bennetts

nicholas burns aims for the chapel and meditation room to become a picturesque element of its site as the landscape grows around it. while the orientation and form of its sinuous volumes are constrained by the surrounding boulders, the height of the chapel rises to that of the trees. this relationship will eventually evolve as the treetops grow to engulf the concrete peak. and its ribbon of skylight. this will ultimately affect the highly controlled interior conditions, which introduce light as its own architectural element. narrow channels of sunlight will be interrupted by patterned shadowing as the sun is filtered through the canopy.

nicholas burns chapel
image by jérémy pernet