The students and tutors of a design and build workshop in Istanbul have constructed a seaside temple from oriented strand board.
Irish architecture graduates Kieran Donnellan, Darragh Breathnach and Paul O Brien led the Chapel project as part of MEDS 2011, an annual event where European students collaborate on the design and fabrication of pavilions.
The timber temple was designed around the theme Bridging Cultures and can be used by visitors of any religion as a space for repose.
Located on a rock outcrop, the rectangular structure is raised above the ground on timber feet and features a portico entrance.
Wooden planks create screens around the base of the walls and across the ceiling, allowing stripes of sunlight to permeate an interior that faces the ocean.
A recess in the floor provides a place to sit.
Graduate Darragh Breathnach is also a member of VAV Architects, who recently created a concealed passageway behind a secret mirror - see our earlier story here.
See also: more stories about projects constructed from oriented strand boards here.
Photography is by Kieran Donnellan.
Here are some more details from Donnellan:
Chapel
The name of the Chapel project is inspired by its origins in religious typologies, but the intention was simply to create a space that offers repose. The concept for the pavilion involved the exploration of spatial concepts relating to religious typologies from the Western and Eastern cultures that have shaped Istanbul. This was in response to the event theme of 'Bridging Cultures'.
The pavilion occupies its site like a Greek temple, boldly situated on a prominent rock outcrop that allows it to be seen for miles along the local shoreline. Particular natural characteristics of the site, such as small cliffs and areas of thick wild grass, are used to best advantage in leading visitors on a journey around the pavilion, before gaining access.
Upon reaching the entrance, the chapels' rectangular form ceases to be the regular datum highlighting the irregularity of the surrounding landscape, and instead folds in upon itself to create an inviting portico.
The interior leaves Greek Classicism behind in favor of the intimacy of the Turkish Mosque typology. Just like the low horizontal datum, and soft ornate praying carpets of the Blue Mosque, the lower realm of the Chapel invites visitors to sit and relax, rewarding them with a stunning sea-view.
Beams of sunlight from a roof light bathe the visitor as they move to take their seat. At this point one becomes aware of the meaning of the ring of baffles, as the slight views through them mimic that of looking through the wild grass beyond.