Stories from within the cave

This narrative is a development of the notes and voice recordings I took while on site, in an attempt to present how powerful this experience was. As I climb the gentle sloping trail to the block in the distance, the contoured layers of rammed concrete seem to blend themselves with the lines of the plough in the fields surrounding it. As the trail bends around the fields, the sides of the tower seem to distort and indicate a different form geometry as I get closer and closer to the chapel. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one that noticed the ability of the geometry to transform and shift. After the visit, I came across an article that documents the visit of British architect John Pawson, he says ‘Zumthor’s five-sided structure has a shapeshifting quality, its appearance morphing with every twist and turn of the footpath that winds its way between the fields’21. It’s only when I arrive adjacent to the field that contains the chapel that I notice it is actually pentagonal like the plan says.

As I climb towards the sharp metal door, I notice people opening and closing it and I immediately observe its exaggerated thickness The shock prepares the muscles in the arms for the strain of opening such a seeming dense block of metal. The minuscular knob-shaped handle makes the prospect of moving the door and entering the space seem exhausting. As I press the handle, the door proactively pivots open with the lightness of a butterfly and realise the door is actually hollow. ‘The door handle is the handshake of the building’22, and to extend this further the ease to open it, is what greets and invites. The first peak reminds me there was a fire here. Under which, the lead that covers the floor melted and the smoke of the trees blacked the ridged cave like-walls of the tunnel that leads to even more darkness. Yet it’s this darkness that generates mystery and invites the visitor; teases. From the door there is no direct view to the main space, as the tight tunnel to it folds and undulates, creating a visual, physical and emotive suspense.

21 https://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/architecture/articles/2013/september/26/john-pawson-visits-zumthors-bruder-klaus-chapel/

This effect of multi-sensory suspense is heightened by the black ash on the wall and lack of light as the door is shut behind. The darkness forces a slower more cautious walk extending the time spent within the threshold and extending the time of suspense. Within this transition other two particular effects take place. As the feet press against the surface of the floor the soles can feel the slight flexible attribute of the molten lead as the feet give the impression of sinking Absorbing and muting the sound of the steps as you walk towards the core.

‘Gravity is measured by the bottom of the foot; we trace the density and texture of the ground though our soles.’23

The darkness and suspense of the tunnel mutes, preparing for the seemingly compulsorysilence within the main space. This silence and darkness awaken a primal instinct of alertness, mystery and anticipation, which is abruptly released as one enters the interior core and looks up at the oculus opening to the sky. As light is absorbed by the black ash that covers the walls, the hand is invited to touch and feel the imprints left by the scorched trees.

‘A powerful architectural experience silences all external noise; it focuses our attention on our very existence…it makes us aware of our own solitude’24

A meditative silence dominates, as the limbic system with the cerebral cortex race to make sense of the space which surrounds the body. The sky which we stare at in apprehension though the small opening at the top of the core is the same sky as before entering the building. Yet, the regained visual access to light from the darkness of the tunnel is what grips the attention as we subconsciously frame the heavens though the opening that connects the interior to the outside but more importantly to the sky. The presence of the burned trees remains within the space. In the silence of voices and noise, the sound of branches moving tree branches, emitted by the forest they were taken from. Their presence also, in the notes of smoke within the air that fills the chapel. The textures of the whole composition invite tactile interaction. The flutes in the tapering walls where the tree trunks were, are asking to be caressed. The fine white sand where the candles are planted, still show the finger marks of those who planted them and demand more imprints to be made. Sunlight, distorted by the glass balls scattered around the dark core like stars on a night sky, temp the eye, teasing what the outside world looks like through its pupils. Like a fortune telling orbuculum they beg for a soft touch to reveal its mysteries. The tactile and interactive invitation of the space to the hands is also evoked in the sculpture of the Nicholas of Fluhe (Bruder Klaus), whom the chapel is dedicated too, where the sculptor Hans Josephsohn, has purposefully expressed the movement of the moulding marks in the textural quality of the bust. The sculpture itself teases touch as initially it seems to be made out of a flexible or ductile material similar to that of clay but upon touch, its temperature suggests the coldness of cast metal While exiting, I was captivated by the way light framed the sharp outline of the door. The tunnel reminded me of the Biblical story illustrating the Raising of Lazarus A transition from the dead of darkness into the light of life.

Chapter 2: Reconnection with the Gothic

En-route to Wachendorf, it would have been a hugely missed opportunity to not experience one of the greatest examples of Gothic architecture, Cologne Cathedral. Initiated in 1248, the cathedral, a 600-year long construction endeavour, created the tallest building in the world after its completion in 1880, still the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. The colossal height is credited to the 157-metre tall twin towers that mark the cathedral’s dominant presence within the city’s skyline25 Gothic architecture is characterised by its verticality via the use of the flying buttress which allowed taller buildings to be constructed The flying buttress in Gothic churches allowed the interior space to have access light, something that the preceding Romanesque style was ineffective at doing. Openings, especially the windows, were made to be much larger and offer constant sunlight, filtered through illustrated stained-glass windows surrounding the walls. This penetration of sunlight allowed the interior space to be ultimately connected to the heavens but also illustrate the scriptures for the illiterate congregation of the time. Also, in comparison to the less efficient, Romanesque barrel vault, Gothic architecture typically used the pointed arch, which was more effective at supporting load especially, when these were crossed to create ribbed vaulted ceilings. This was more efficient than its Romanesque, groin vault counterpart and allowed taller ceilings to be supported by thinner columns. The methods of construction used in Gothic architecture allowed for more holisticinterioratmospheres tobe created.Theseatmospheres unlike the Romanesque, were more sensuous and appealed to the emotive rather than the intellect.

The columns at Cologne Cathedral, like other typical Gothic columns, were grooved for decoration but this also allowed them to appear slender and take up less interior space. This along with the weathering of the stone, both on the interior and exterior, immediately created an affinity with the burned, fluted walls of the Bruder Klaus Chapel. Although Zumthor’s minimalist approach omits the graceful stone decoration of the Gothic marvel, Bruder Klaus Chapel can still be seen as an attempt to reconnect the modern with the Germanic Gothic or at least reference it. This can be observed in Zumthor’s choice of rammed concrete which when set is reminiscent to the textural quality of unweathered sandstone used at Cologne

25 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cologne-Cathedral

Cathedral. Similarly, to how blocks of carved stones are stacked on top of each other vertically, the chapel expresses the vertical contours of the layered rammed concrete used for its construction. This parallel with the Gothic is also present within the spatial principles of the chapel, which shifts vertically in height and like Gothic architecture, creates a hierarchy by using ceiling height to assert importance. This shifting verticality of the Gothic becomes present as one visualises the section of Bruder Klaus Chapel. Initially, there is a lower, seemingly vaulted tunnel that leads to the main space which, like the ambulatory that houses the altar in Cologne Cathedral, elongates further upwards towards the sky. However, instead of housing an altar, the main space in the chapel opens to the heavens. These delightful orchestrations of details with light, darkness, scale, smell and textures are deeply potent and dynamic, and forge a holistic atmosphere that conceptualises the presence of the divine. While drawing the similarities to the experience of Bruder Klaus Chapel, I reached the conclusion that Cologne cathedral was similarly effective at inflicting a powerful multi-sensory experience.

The prospect of Zumthor addressing the qualities of Cologne Cathedral within Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, is very plausible. This can be noticed in the visual homage he pays to the cathedral in Kolumba Museum, situated in proximity to the cathedral. Instead of restricting the views to it, Zumthor opens a massive window that frames the whole cathedral as a great artefact in the museum’s exhibition. This becomes more evident as seating stool is placed adjacent to it. (see figure 21)

As the senses are becoming more disconnected and disregarded within the context of contemporary architecture, we must regain this connection by looking back at fundamental spatial principles and spaces designed to evoke emotion and reconnect us with the intimate emotive qualities’ architecture must have. Pallasmaa writes ‘The timeless task of architecture is to create embodied and lived existential metaphors that concretise and structure our being in the world. Architecture reflects, materialises and eternalises ideas and images of ideal life…In memorable experiences of architecture, space, matter and time fuse into a singular dimension, into basic substance of being, that penetrates our consciousness’26. In synergy with its function and the regard to the intellect, a building should connect to the sensuous and emotive self.

One typology of building that was designed to do so are places of worship, as they have been developed over centuries to impose a sense of presence by a superior entity. Using careful details and spatial devices, these spaces makes us question humanity; permanence, ephemerality and place in the universe. While I’m not arguing that all buildings should be designed to be like places of worship, I believe that every building should have an aura, a sense of character, a presence that allows humans to engage with it in an appropriate way at a multi-sensory level and connection deeper than that of one made at a visual level especially through pictures. Although inanimate, it must react to the animated lives of those who dwell within their walls.

Even seen from the periphery of Cologne, on the roads that flow towards the heart of the city. The two mighty towers of Cologne Cathedral, seemed almost threatening due to their size and their unexpectedly deep black colour which already from the outside seemed to impose a sense of inferiority. Intrigued by the charcoal black hues on the stone, I was immediately curious to touch the stone to see if the colour would transfer onto the tips of my finger, it did not Upon climbing up to the steps of the plaza surrounding the majestic cathedral I could see how this was a beacon, a symbol of place and home representing the city and its history The cathedral seemingly at the heart of every activity taking place that that moment in time. This collage of activities within the premises of the church allowed me to almost blend in with the cityand even associate myself with every person in the square at the time. I was not a stranger, I was a ‘Kölsche’27 like every other person around me. I realised the cathedral was actually the gate of the city although sitting right at its core. Welcoming despite its intimidating black colour and head tilting height.

Upon entering though the portal situated at the centre of the mighty towers, a whole new vast space opened up held up immense stone columns like gigantic trees of stone. Although this immensity imposed a feeling of inferiority, it somehow managed to present itself as a place of safety. The bright light of the midday sun was dimmed down by the cavities in the stone filled with colourful stained glass, somehow forcing the heads of the congregations to look up and forward, towards the central altar spot-lit by the windows like a play set. The colossal nave, forced me to take the less intimidating and lower, side aisles to access the seating area in the centre of the cathedral. The sounds of prayers and whispers were all diluted by the vastness of the space into one unfiltered, unified reverberation that transcended the silence of the space, towards the celling, seemingly trying to connect with the sky and reach its destination. The lingering whistle reminded me of the sound of the trees heard from inside the Bruder Klaus Chapel.

Subconsciously one realises that, as light reflected in the glossy patches of stone, brushed by the thousands, millions of hands through the centuries of usage, there was a clear presence of time, a reminder of death and I was made to think of the multitude of bodies that sat in the very place I was standing, meditating. The slight tang of the incense infused into the stones that frame the space found its way to my nose and even to my tongue; reminding me of my ephemeral physical self and the permanent continuity of rituals though time Those that will happen and have happened in my absence.

Conclusions

Within the context of contemporary architecture, the absolute imperative role of the sensuous experience should not be neglected as it has been over the last century due to the prioritisation of the eye. Its role sits at the very centre of the role of architecture itself. It enables the inanimate to communicate to the animate. Currently, the ocular centric bias of architecture over the last century, made for the eye, has given way to buildings that disregard the dimension of time and aim for a visually sterile and ageless perfection. The role of the render has inverted, the building is now made to represent the render. Pallasmaa alerts, ‘contemporary culture at large drifts towards a distancing, a kind of chilling de-sensualisation and de-erotization of the human relation to reality…These works speak to the intellect and conceptualising capacities instead of the undifferentiated embodied responses’28, a naïve mirage that paints immortality to satisfy the ego, at the cost of the sensual and embodied essence of what makes us human Even the modern parameters of judging architectural quality are reduced to what can be seen and not what is felt, what the space communicates. This ocularcentrism is exclusive towards the human senses, far from addressing what makes us human ultimately dehumanising progressively. As architects we must battle this shift, create spaces that are integrating and responding to our humanity, dimensions of time and the sensory. This implies orchestration of the minimal units, details that work as a whole. God is not in the detail, God is in the integrated whole of the embodied experience within a space that, although inanimate manages to communicate to us emotionally.

Architecture should be experienced; not watched. Yet in order to do so we must design spaces that cater and understand the human condition. Elier Rasmussen concludes ‘Experiencing Architecture’ beautifully by stating, ‘It is possible to get as much pleasure from architecture as the nature lover does from plants. He cannot say whether he prefers the desert cactus or the swamp lily. Each of them may be absolutely right in its own locality and own clime. He loves all growing things, familiarises himself with their special attributes and therefore knows whether or not he has before him a harmoniously developed example or a stunted growth of that particular variety. In the same way we should experience architecture’29. From here one can conclude, in order to understand and enjoy architecture it must be able to communicate to us, and for this to happen the building must be experienced.

Bibliography:

1. Le Corbusier- Precisions, MIT Press Cambridge MA, 1991

2. Pallassma, Juhani- The Eyes of the Skin, New York, USA: John Wiley and Sons Inc, 1996)

3. Rasmussen, Stein Elier- Experiencing Architecture, Cambridge, Mass, USA: MIT Press Ltd, 1959

4. Zumthor, Peter- Atmospheres: Architectural Environments, Surrounding Objects, Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser, 2006

5. Zumthor, Peter- 1998-2001 Building Projects (Zurich, Switzerland, Scheidegger Spiess, 2014

6. Castro, Ricardo Leon- Syndesis III: Architecture Place and Landscape (Bogotá, Colombia, Universidad Piloto de Colombia, 2018) Kindle Edition, Ch.2 (Enhanced Experience by “Authorial Instuction”)

7. Frascari, Marco- The Tell-the-Tale Detail (1981), extract from, ‘Theorising New Agenda for Architecture: An Anthropology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995 (Michigan, USA: Priceton Architectural Press, 1996)

Webography:

1. https://www.thoughtco.com/mies-van-der-rohe-edith-farnsworth-177988

2. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/integrate

3. https://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/architecture/articles/2013/september/26/john-pawson-visitszumthors-bruder-klaus-chapel/

4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cologne-Cathedral

5. https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture

6. https://www.cologne.de/events/cologne-carnival/cologne-mentality.html

List of Figures and Images:

• Cover pages- Authors own

• Figure 1-Le Corbusier’s Sketch for League of Nations Projects 1929, https://www.archdaily.com/617466/le-corbusier-ideas-andforms/5522c379e58ecea9f8000027-le-corbusier-sketch

• Figure 2- Frarnsworth House designed by Mies van der Rohe https://farnsworthhouse.org/#iLightbox[gallery4678]/4

• Figure 3-Portrait of Steen Elier Rasmussen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steen_Eiler_Rasmussen#/media/File:Steen_Eiler_Rasmussen.jpg

• Figure 4-The Eye,1945 by Salvador Dali https://www.dalipaintings.com/the-eye.jsp

• Figure 5-Zinc Museum, Sauda Norway by Peter Zumthor, https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/02/peter-zumthor-stilted-zincmine-museum-buildings-aldo-amoretti-photography-norway/ ,Photo by Aldo Amoretti

• Figure 6- Tower in the fields of Wachendorf, Author’s Own

• Figure 7- Initial Concept Sketch for Bruder Klaus Chapel by Peter Zumthor, from Zumthor, Peter- 1998-2001 Building Projects (Zurich, Switzerland, Scheidegger Spiess, 2014

• Figure 8- Beginning of the Ritualistic Construction Proccess, from Zumthor, Peter- 1998-2001 Building Projects (Zurich, Switzerland, Scheidegger Spiess, 2014

• Figure 9- 1:10 Concept Model for Bruder Klaus Project by Peter Zumthor Atelier https://www.designboom.com/architecture/peterzumthor-models-venice-architecture-biennale-05-28-2018/gallery/image/peter-zumthor-models-venice-architecture-biennaledreams-promises-designboom-g2

• Figures 10- Ploughed Fields of Wachendorf against the Rammed Earth of the chapel, Author’s Own

• Figure 11- Bruder Klaus Vertical, Clean-Cut Form, Author’s Own

• Figure 12- Seemingly Heavy, Thick Metal Door and Minuscular Door Handle, Author’s Own

• Figure 13-Molten Lead Floor, Author’s own

• Figure 14- Flues Created by the Burned Trees, Author’s Own

• Figure 15- A Man Stares at the Heavens in Silence though the Oculus of the Chapel, Author’s Own

• Figure 16- The Oculus of the Chapel, Author’s Own

• Figure 17- Bust of Bruder Klaus by Hans Josephson, Author’s Own

• Figure 18-View to the Oculus of the Chapel from the Metal Bench, Author’s Own

• Figure 19- Tunnel Towards the Door, Author’s Own

• Figures 20-Cologne Cathedral and Surrounding Plaza, Author’s Own, photo shot by Ionut Oiegas

• Figure 21- One of the Spires at Cologne Cathedral, Author’s Own

• Figure 22-Cologne Cathedral Grooved Columns and the Similar Fluted Texture of the Walls at Bruder Klaus Chapel, Author’s Own

• Figure 23- Section Drawing of Bruder Klaus Chapel, https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/bruder-klaus-fieldchapel/#bruder-klaus-alz

• Figure 24- Section Drawing of Cologne Cathedral, Showing the side Aisles and the Central Nave, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Cathedral#/media/File:Jahrbuch_MZK_Band_03_-_Gew%C3%B6lbesystem__Fig_75_Chordurchschnitt_des_Domes_zu_C%C3%B6ln_-_S%C3%BCdseite.jpg

• Figure 25- Cologne Cathedral as Seen from One of the Huge Windows at Kolumba Museum, Designed by Zumthor, Author’s Own

• Figure 26- Picture of the North, Side Aisle at Cologne Cathedral, Author’s Own

• Figure 27- Ceiling Above the High Altar and the Huge Stained-Glass Windows Surrounding the Ambulatory, Author’s Own

• Figure 28-Door at Bruder Klaus Chapel, Seen as One Exits the Mystical Interior Space, Author’s Own