Hikers and bicyclists traveling through the foothills of Boedigheim, Germany now have a new place to stop, as construction was recently finished on this gorgeous Field Chapel. Designed and built by students at the Illinois Instiitute of Technology College of Architecture along with Ecker Architekten, the sunning open-air chapel was constructed entirely from recycled and renewable materials including locally-sourced and sustainably harvested woods.
Boedigheim’s new Field Chapel was designed to offer “a place for quiet reflection, but also one that welcomes hikers and cyclists who appreciate a rest stop that has a sense of beauty.” The 9 meter-high structure features a beautiful latticed vault and is accessible only by foot or by bicycle along a rough country road.
The interdenominational chapel was constructed over the past year by a team of students from IIT Architecture along with Ecker Architekten, local craftsmen, volunteer workers, and townspeople from the surrounding area. The entire project was constructed using a CNC machine to precisely cut each piece, minimizing construction waste.
Donated, renewable and locally-sourced materials were used whenever possible, and all of the chapel’s components were made by local craftsmen or by the students using the local carpenter’s shop. The larch wood used throughout the chapel’s exterior was sourced from local forests and cut at a sawmill less than 2km from the site. This wood is very weather resistant due to it’s high sap content and will turn a beautiful silver-grey over time. Bricks used to pave the tower platform were left over from a nearby construction project, and the gravel for the chapel’s forecourt was dredged from a nearby river. All of the project’s materials were sourced within 40km from the building site.
+ Flurkapelle Boedigheim
+ IIT Architecture
+ Ecker Architekten
Via Archdaily
Photos by Brigida Gonzalez
The chapel looks like a little home. Like the little house on the prairie. It is inviting and exudes warmth. People who see it -will stop in.