Architect：Sebastian Hicks (Imaginary Rock)
Location：Coventry Cathedral, UK; | ;View Map
Project Year：2019
Category：Chapels
A space of non-denominative gathering, the chapel is conceived as a space of reconciliation. The walls of the Chapel are created of bespoke folding chairs.
In its complete form, the space is a monolith, without entry or exit. An individual wishing to enter the space will have to remove a chair. As they do so, so a window is formed, a view is framed. In this closed form, the space is one of contemplation and protection.
Take a chair and a window is formed, two chairs forms a door. As more people arrive to occupy the space, so the walls come down. The gathering of people brings light and transparency. In this form, the space is one of exchange.
As more chairs are removed, so the space dissolves vertically and becomes a surface organized by the dynamics of the group or groups.
As a symbolic, interactive object of reconciliation, the pavilion is a research tool but is also the platform for collaborative practices, community engagements, performance and artful enquiry.
The project also suggests new forms of public infrastructure where proximities and configurations are controlled by the user, interesting given the current situation. The Chapel Team are interested in pursuing new possibilities for the design.
Part funded through the European Union sponsored, Migrant Friendly Cities initiative, and supported by Coventry University, the building of the structure was a collaborative process integrating students and retired experts.
The Chapel is a transversal production project, facilitating intergenerational and research-based learning, using both automated and traditional, craft-based, building. All mechanical fixings were developed and produced in conjunction with the engineering department of the university, whilst the joinery for the 90 bespoke oak and marine ply chairs, was developed with local carpenter Tony McCourt.
Sebastian Hicks is a practicing architect, Course Director for the Master of Architecture at Coventry University and a Research Associate at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations.
1. Panelco
2. Glenmere Timber
3. James Latham Timber
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