Field Chapel by Peter Zumthor

By noon today, a festive service will take place as part of the grand opening of the Bruder Klaus field chapel in Mechernich-Wachendorf, designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The building was resurrected thanks to the enthusiastic initiative of local farmers and is dedicated to Saint Nicholas, who is nicknamed "Bruder Klaus" (Brother Nicholas) in this region. Zumthor designed the chapel as a minimalist block. The twelve-meter high rough monolith, resting on a pentagonal plan, was created from exposed concrete. A triangular entrance is cut into the massive body of the building. Using formwork made from 120 spruce trunks, a single space was created inside for worship. The entire space narrows significantly towards the top. At the very top, it is capped by an aperture open to the sky. The inner walls were charred by fire, which smoldered here for two weeks. Link>