*멕시코 선셋채플 [ BNKR Arquitectura ] Sunset Chapel

'안도다다오'씨의 빛의 교회와는 사뭇 다른 느낌이 였다.
절제되면서 칼로 잘라 낸 듯한 느낌이 빛의 교회라면 선셋채플은
커다란 바위를 깍아서 만든 원래부터 그자리에 있었던 하나의 자연처럼
느껴졌다. 교회의 건물은 성스럽게 인위적인 형태를 추구하지 않았나?
독보적이며 유니크한 형상이야 말로 신의 말씀을 진정어리게 전달하는
메세지로 여기지 않았나?
그동안 보았던 교회는 신께 찬양하기 위해 성스럽게 경외스럽게
만들어졌다. 지금처럼 자연의 하나가 되려고 하지 않았지.
오히려 이렇게 자연과 동화되는 것은 샤머니즘이라 하여
지양하지 않았던가?
'비엔케이알' 그들의 고민은 무엇이 었을까?
유리/콘크리트. 투명성/불투명성. 새털처럼 가벼움/무거움. 클래식정형화된 비율/비정형.
유리조각같이 가녀린/절대불멸을. 하루살이/최후의
그들은 이렇게 아이러니한 상황을 공존케 하는 것이 진정으로
죽음과 삶(결혼:여기서 웨딩을 위한 장소로 사용)에 대한 진정성을
바로 본 것 같다.
물론 건축주(아마 신부님? 목사님? 아닐까 싶다)가 요구한 드라마틱한 상황연출은
계획에 반영한 것은 물론이다.( 일년의 두번 정확하게 선셋이 십자가와 만나도록 설계하는 것,
그리고 파노라마 뷰가 예배당에서 펼져치도록 만드는 것)
어렸을때 밤새 노는게 좋아 갔던 교회,
사춘기시절 친구들(여자친구,누나..) 만나기 위해 갔던 교회
군대에서 초코파이 두개때문에 갔던 교회
친구 결혼식때문에 갔던 교회
김수환 추기경님 선종때 갔던 교회(흠 교회 아니고 성당인가...)
그냥 지금은 가만히 저 꼭대기에 앉아 아무런 생각하고 싶지 않다.

Our first religious commission was a wedding chapel conceived to celebrate the first day of a couple’s new life. Our second religious commission had a diametrically opposite purpose: to mourn the passing of loved ones. This premise was the main driving force behind the design, the two had to be complete opposites, they were natural antagonists. While the former praised life, the latter grieved death. Through this game of contrasts all the decisions were made: Glass vs. Concrete, Transparency vs. Solidity, Ethereal vs. Heavy, Classical Proportions vs. Apparent Chaos, Vulnerable vs. Indestructible, Ephemeral vs. Lasting…

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The client brief was pretty simple, almost naïve: First, the chapel had to take full advantage of the spectacular views. Second, the sun had to set exactly behind the altar cross (of course, this is only possible twice a year at the equinoxes). And last but not least, a section with the first phase of crypts had to be included outside and around the chapel. Metaphorically speaking, the mausoleum would be in perfect utopian synchrony with a celestial cycle of continuous renovation.

Two elements obstructed the principal views: large trees and abundant vegetation, and a behemoth of a boulder blocking the main sight of the sunset. In order to clear these obstructions (blowing up the gigantic rock was absolutely out of the question for ethical, spiritual, environmental and, yes, economical reasons) the level of the chapel had to be raised at least five meters. Since only exotic and picturesque vegetation surrounds this virgin oasis, we strived to make the least possible impact on the site reducing the footprint of the building to nearly half the floor area of the upper level.

Acapulco’s hills are made up of huge granite rocks piled on top of each other. In a purely mimetic endeavor, we worked hard to make the chapel look like “just another” colossal boulder atop the mountain.

Architects: BNKR Arquitectura
Location: Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
Partners: Esteban Suárez (Founding Partner), Sebastián Suárez
Project Leaders: Mario Gottfried, Javier González & Roberto Ampudia
Project Team: Mario Gottfried, Rodrigo Gil, Roberto Ampudia, Javier González, Óscar Flores, David Sánchez, Diego Eumir, Guillermo Bastian & Adrian Aguilar
Collaborators: Jorge Arteaga y Zaida Montañana
Structural Engineers: Juan Felipe Heredia & José Ignacio Báez
MEP: SEI
Lighting: Noriega Iluminadores – Ricardo Noriega
Construction: Factor Eficiencia – Fermin Espinosa & Francisco Villeda
Project area: 120 sqm
Project year: 2011
Photographs: Esteban Suárez


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