DSN S 546 CASE STUDY Deysy Cruz Escobar
Bruder Klaus Chapel Iversheimer Str. 53894 Feldkapelle, Germany
ARCHITECT: Peter Zumthor
Chapel devoted to Swiss Saint Nicholas Von der Flue.
Date Built: 2007 Size: 1965 SQFT
The Bruder Klaus Field Chapel is situated in a remote field of Wachendorf, Germany, it was originally commissioned by a local farmer and his wife. The chapel was dedicated to Swiss Saint Nicholas Von der Flue, better known as Brother Klaus (1417-1487). The verticality of the chapel is accentuated in its juxtaposition to a flat field. The Bruder Klaus Field Chapel stands on a concrete platform that is buried in the earth. This serves as a strong base. The sustainable construction process behind Bruder Klaus Field Chapel elevated the quality of the design. The materials used for this chapel were all locally sourced from nearby towns. 112 local pine tree’s were harvested to initiate the construction of the chapel. The tree trunks were arranged to create a teepee style inner framework. Layers of concrete were then poured, creating a simple five face geometry. Once the concrete had become completely cured, low temperature fire was used to dry and shrink the wooden 2 | Robotic 3D Printing + Casting
framework. The fire was kept burning for three weeks inside the interior so that the tree trunks would shrink. The tree trunks would then be mechanically removed, exposing a natural looking carved interior cladding. In addition to this texture, the interior classing is embellished with crystal elements that create illuminating light refraction within the interior space. The crystal elements were used to plug 300 small shafts that used to hold the steel ties bounding the outer and inner cribbing together during the construction process. There is a narrow hallway that widens to a more open space a tear drop shape is revealed that opens through an oculus, to the above sky. (Axis Mundi, connection between heaven and earth). The oculus at the center of Teepee allows light to filter in through the space creating an intimate relationship with nature. Overall Bruder Klause Field Chapel is an example of sustainable method to construct using local resources.
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24 day process to layer concrete over wooden framework
+ 3 weeks to slow burn wooden framework
Wooden logs removed once dried leaving this natrual texture 4 | Robotic 3D Printing + Casting
35 ft
40 ft
300 Tieback Holes Filled with Crystals
50 cm Layers
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Sources Gyurkovich, Jacek. “ A R C H I T E C T U R E YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW–BETWEEN BEAUTY AND ORIGINALITY.” DEFINING THE ARCHITECTURAL SPACE: 115. Jenner, Ross. “Inner Poverty: A setting of Peter Zumthor’s Brother Klaus Field Chapel.” Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts (2011): 35-47. Sveiven, Megan. “Bruder Klaus Field Chapel / Peter Zumthor.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 26 Jan. 2011, www.archdaily. com/106352/bruder-klausfield-chapel-peter-zumthor. Zumthor, Peter. “Bruder Klaus Field Chapel.” (2007).
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