Who: Le Corbusier
What: The Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut, a shrine for the Catholic Church
Where: Ronchamp, eastern France
When: Completed 1954
Ref Books: The Chapel at Ronchamp - Ezra Stoller. ISBN 1-56898-184-8 ,
Le Corbusier, The Chapel at Ronchamp - Daniele Pauly. ISBN 978-3-7643-8232-2
The Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut, is an exciting building built for a reformist Church looking to continue its relevancy by renewing its spirit through embracing modern art and architecture.
The building sits atop a gentle hill, with the horizon visible on all four sides. Le Corbusier’s bell-shaped plan for the chapel was conceived in a series of rapidly drawn sketches made on his first trip, driven by his response to the site. “Taking as a starting point the four horizons, ... the design is conceived in conformity with these horizons - in acceptance of them, ” he wrote.
The chapel reflects Le Corbusier’s intention to create a lyrical, plastic space to serve as “a vessel of intense concentration and meditation”. To this aim, the building features sprayed untreated concrete whitewashed with plaster to leave a rough surface, to which the chapel’s sweeping airfoil-inspired, earthen-coloured roof contrasts in both colour and texture.
Even before the chapel was opened, it was met with harsh critique, to the extent that the town had refused electricity and water to the building. It was critisized for being a highly irrational building, and provoked a torrent of controversy. It took time, but the once hesitant town eventually opened up to the chapel, and would be regarded in history as a manifesto of Le Corbusier’s work.
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