Capilla de la Santa Cruz / Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach + Roberto Silva

Architects:Roberto Silva,Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach

Area:141m²

Year:2018

Construction:DICONTECH

Supervision:Miguel Ángel Rojas

Structural Engineering:GMA Arquitectura e Ingeniería, Ing. Mario Romero

Water/Sanitary Engineering:Ing. Arq. Humberto Andrade

Electrical Engineering:Ing. Ericka Azpeitia

City:Jojutla de Juárez

Country:Mexico

Text description provided by the architects. After the devastating earthquake in September 2017, all of Jojutla's colonial heritage was severely damaged or lost. We had the opportunity to design and build a small chapel where another one used to stand. We decided to recreate a reminiscence of the past with modern construction techniques. An anchor for the people of this town, their traditions and heritage.

A place to pauseto pass by,and to stay

to find a cornerfor a sacredthought

across the roadwhere the light and the silenceunites

and to feel how a wonder-in its stillness-Is healing.

Description by Mónica Arellano.

The building is made up of a rotating dome with four arches with a parabolic or ovoidal profile, rotated with respect to a circular and open axis that allows the passage of overhead light. This dome rests on eight triangular columns that generate eight semicircular arches, which allow the water to flow down through a gutter that extends at each junction of the arches to avoid stagnation of water between the vertices.

As can be seen in the project sketches, La Capilla de la Santa Cruz, is built with the same concepts as the Jojutla School, also made by Alberto Kalach, where the use of arches arose from the need to attend to the security and resistance of both buildings.

In the same way, as in the aforementioned case, it was decided to use bare concrete that would reveal the marks of the formwork for a matter of durability and practicality; although in this case a reddish tone was used to contrast and frame the sky of the region. Continuing with this range of colours, the floor was designed as a mosaic using earth tones creating a star in the core starting from the central axis.

The chapel has three entrances facing west, each with two doors that preserve the shape and natural colour of wood, harmonizing with the furniture that follows the same principles governing the work. The windows are made up of a lattice made with a matt black metal structure with vertical lines in with a wooden cross alternates rhythmically with the metal.

Project gallery

Project location

Address:Jojutla de Juárez, Mor., Mexico