MONOLITH
Site Chapel international architecture competition
HONORABLE MENTION
Shuaizhong Wang, Ziqi Chen and Zeyu Liu
2019
The old quarry, with its unique texture transition from the organic form of natural topography to precise geometry of men-made stone block, presents itself as the most dynamic and interesting site on Pessegueiro Island. We further explored such contrast with the intention to create a ceremonial spatial experience for the site chapel.
We extracted the existing scale and texture of the old quarry, extended it to the stone plaza and established a sequence of space that starts with the existing stone blocks, and ends with a monolith at the north tip of the island.The monumental scale and minimalist form of the monolith emphasized its identity as the climax of men-made space among the natural surroundings.
Guided by the mysterious monolith at the end, visitors will descend into the quarry from south, walk through the narrow passage between the stone blocks and enter an evenly divided plaza. A series of individual stone walls partially refrain visitors’ attention to the east and visually lead them to the monolith. Eventually, in the monolith, they will find themselves greeted by a sublime meditation space that extends infinitely to the sky, with an elaborately framed north view to the Atlantic Ocean around the corner to serve you as the coda for the entire experience.
We extracted the existing scale and texture of the old quarry, extended it to the stone plaza and established a sequence of space that starts with the existing stone blocks, and ends with a monolith at the north tip of the island.The monumental scale and minimalist form of the monolith emphasized its identity as the climax of men-made space among the natural surroundings.
Guided by the mysterious monolith at the end, visitors will descend into the quarry from south, walk through the narrow passage between the stone blocks and enter an evenly divided plaza. A series of individual stone walls partially refrain visitors’ attention to the east and visually lead them to the monolith. Eventually, in the monolith, they will find themselves greeted by a sublime meditation space that extends infinitely to the sky, with an elaborately framed north view to the Atlantic Ocean around the corner to serve you as the coda for the entire experience.
