Creating an architectural space that serves primarily as a farewell requires appropriate respect for its sepulchral role. The design of the chapel in Rychwałd by Jakub Turbas and Bartłomiej Pyrzyk refers to traditional chapels, mystical character and religious path.
TheChapel of the Last Farewell in Rychwałd near Żywiec was awarded first prize in the "Salon Architecture 2021" competition.of the Malopolska Regional Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland for the best completed project by Malopolska architects. The complex also received an honorable mention in the "SARP Award of the Year 2021" competition for the best architectural building completed by the end of 2020 in Poland.
functional program
The chapel project located in a new part of the cemetery in Rychwałd, located in close proximity to the Baroque church. The idea to erect a cemetery chapel came from the needs of the local community. The ideas were supported locally by the Franciscans. The complex was composed of the chapel and accompanying rooms: cold storage, technical rooms, utility rooms and toilets.
view of the chapels from the cemetery
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
form
The architects tried to refer to the traditional form of a chapel with a gabled roof, objects that also appear in the Zywiec area. The reinterpretation of these elements is contemporary in nature. The chapel building has large triangular glazing and little detailing. An important element was the selection of natural materials such as wood and stone. The choice of materials is primarily intended to allow an impact on the senses.
The functions of the complex are distinguished in space. The sphere of the sacred was separated from the profane also visually. Functional rooms have been covered with greenery, creating a space that is fenced off from the parking lot and facilities. The material on the facade also emphasizes the differences between these spheres. The stone on the front of the chapel is polished, while on the accompanying section it is raw.
The smooth front elevation of the chapel
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
idea
The chapel refers to the mystical nature of death in Christian theology. Heading towards the chapel, there is a tranquility and isolation from the outside world through the stone walls. The chapel's vestibule has been specially darkened to create an impression of the immateriality of the place. The chapel was finished with wooden panels. Icons by Greta Lesko and an antique crucifix were placed inside. The interior architecture, according to the designers, naturally leads the eye upwards and towards the light.
Jakub Turbasa, one of the chapel's authors, will talk about the idea and the design process:
Wiktor Bochenek: What is the design process of sepulchral and sacred architecture? What makes it different from other branches of architecture?
Jakub Turbasa: The process itself, both the design and creation of sacred (or sepulchral) architecture, is fundamentally no different from the design and realization of buildings with other purposes. However, the realization of a sacred building is a special task in its own way, because unlike many other types of buildings, these remain in relationship not only with the visible world, but also relate to the hidden reality.
To use a certain generalization, architecture consists of two dimensions: practical and meaningful. The former is very concrete and pertains to, among other things, functionality, functional properties, corporeality (materiality), and the durability of buildings. The meaningful dimension is connected to the intangible. It can include, among other things, the identity and history of a place, the motivations of the creator or principal, but also symbolism, which is particularly important in the case of sacred architecture. Symbols, or visible signs, try to direct and bring closer what is invisible - spiritual reality.
view of the interior from the vestibule
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
Wiktor Bochenek: What is the priority when creating such spaces?
Jakub Turbasa: Any architecture - whether sacred or otherwise - is supposed to serve the purpose for which it is intended in the best possible way. Sacred architecture should provide a sensitive setting for the silence of prayer, the concentration of meditation, or the communal experience of the Eucharist. In the Christian understanding, the task of sacred art is to unveil hidden realities, and ultimately to "guide/mediate" the encounter with God. Nonetheless, no artist, no matter how distinguished, can arouse this experience in the viewer. This is a certain mystery.
chapel vestibule
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
Wiktor Bochenek: In the design process you referred to the "paschal road". How do you find this reference in the design?
Jakub Turbasa: The design of the chapel combines two age-old traditions of building Christian religious buildings: the concept of the way - that is, moving in stages from the profane world towards a place of the sacred, and the concept of the place - expressed in the central arrangement of gathering together for prayer. Given the function of the building - the place of the last farewell - the design concept echoes the memory of the so-called " Paschal Way", which is important for Christians. The Paschal Way refers to the last moments of Christ's life - from the passion, through death, to the resurrection. It is expressed in architecture in a non-literal and symbolic way, and presents itself as follows.
During the first stage - i.e. crossing the boundary of the consecrated land(the boundary of the cemetery) and heading towards the main entrance to the chapel - a person can experience a gradual calming, concentration, preparation for prayer. With the help of stone walls growing out of the ground with greenery (hiding the accompanying rooms underneath), one becomes increasingly isolated from the outside world - the reality of the profane. After crossing the threshold of the chapel, a person finds himself in an atrium filled with darkness. The reinforced concrete walls and ceiling are black in color, which is intended to emphasize the impression of immensity, infinity and "immateriality" of the place, where all contours are lost. The severity of the place expresses the stage of the aforementioned passion - the solitude, suffering, Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Olives and the Passion. Then, at the end of the interior perspective, at the height of the pattern, a cross appears, which symbolizes the next stage of the aforementioned paschal journey - the stage of death.
The last, or third stage, has to do with stepping into the prayer area proper. The architecture of this light-filled space is meant to depict the hope of the Christian vocation (according to the Christian faith, life does not end with death). It evokes the following after passion and death - the resurrection stage. In a place where people gather around the body of the deceased, their attention is not kept only on the reality of death (i.e. the cross and the person of the deceased located at eye level), but through the architecture and icons seeks to be directed towards the prospect of eternal life. The architecture of the interior naturally leads the gaze of the faithful towards the mountain and the light, which in Christian symbolism depicts hope, what is good and beautiful, eternity and Christ himself. Icons by Greta Lesko depict selected scenes from the Holy Scriptures depicting a substitute for this reality. In the central place above the cross we located - often depicted in Orthodox churches - the icon of "Christ's Descent into the Abyss." It was painted on silk, and then the whole thing was embedded in glass. This allows natural light to penetrate through it. The light that brings out of darkness, out of "nothingness" ...
icon by Greta Lesko
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
Wiktor Bochenek: The use of materials - primarily wood and stone - is important in your project. Where did this choice come from and how did it influence the body and division of spheres in this complex?
Jakub Turbasa: The body and senses have an important role in experiencing architecture, as well as experiencing liturgy or prayer. One of the more important Church documents that also addresses matters of architecture, the General Introduction to the Roman Missal, when talking about interior decoration, reminds us that one should strive for noble simplicity and take care of the genuineness of things so that they correspond to the dignity of a sacred place. As I believe, contact with noble and natural matter opens man through his senses to deeper knowledge, real experience and the multidimensionality of an element or space.
For the construction of the chapel, we used local sandstone. The choice of finishing with two facade textures resulted from the zoning of the building. This is because the body of the chapel in Rychwałd consists of two parts, which respectively express functions related to the sacred and profane spaces. The first refers to the place of prayer - the chapel, which with its expressive form clearly communicates its purpose. This one was finished with polished sandstone blocks corresponding to the mentioned dignity of the place of prayer. The other, meanwhile, covered with greenery, rises from the ground in a gentle curve, hiding accompanying rooms such as a place with a cold room for storing bodies, technical rooms, a utility room, public toilets, etc. In a way, it seemed natural that the aforementioned zone should be built of "rough" and irregular sandstone. This part gives the impression that the ground of the cemetery, together with the rock below it, was raised upwards and the accompanying rooms were located in it. The polished and raw stone finish somehow intuitively communicates what zone we are dealing with - sacred or profane.
interior of the chapel
© Jakub Turbasa, Bartłomiej Pyrzyk
Wiktor Bochenek: What was the most difficult part of the project, and what do you find most rewarding?
Jakub Turbasa: Participating in the process of architecture and accompanying the construction requires a great deal of focus, attentiveness and workload. I call this state of mind "holy anxiety," or an attitude of increased concentration to relate as appropriately as possible to the changes taking place in the space. Prominent architect Stanislaw Niemczyk emphasized: "space on a construction site surprises me and I have the right to react to it." There were many moments when intuition told us that it might be worth reconsidering a given solution and redesigning it....
The feeling of satisfaction can be considered on several levels. In this human dimension - understanding design as a service - it is always joyful to receive positive feedback from clients and users. The most important thing is that the space does not distract or interfere with prayer. As I firmly believe, good and meaningful architecture can foster the experience of oneself as an integral - bodily and spiritual - being.
Victor Bochenek: Thank you for the interview!
