The Suspended Box

Capilla del Retiro was built at the foot of Monte Carmelo -seventy kilometers north of Santiago in the valley of the Andes, in the vicinity of the Shrine of Teresa de los Andes and next to the Carmelite Monastery of Auco- as a place for pilgrims to come for quiet contemplation. The 320 m2 construction is located in an extraordinary natural setting and it respects the axes established by the preexisting buildings.

Concrete is the main construction material, and the building’s modest volume rises up from a crosspiece of four beams in the shape of a cross that is supported with the fewest possible structural elements. A patio was excavated beneath this volume, with a rustic stone wall roughly encompassing the chapel, compressing and expanding that space of light.

As a counterpoint to the surroundings, the interior was designed in the shape of a wooden box recycled from old railway sleepers. The box hangs from the structure and lies two meters under its supporting beams. The volume appears to levitate and refers us to the spiritual dimension that is consubstantial with the interior.

 This space is illuminated from below to reveal a weightless interior space that hides the rationality of the supporting elements, and the surrounding patio wall on the outside is visible. Light from above was restricted in order to create a dimming effect, further accentuated by the dark-toned wood. The duality between the rational exterior and the metaphysical interior – a feature of gothic architecture – takes on a new form, one that is committed to modernity.

Cristián Undurraga (Santiago de Chile, 1954) holds a degree in architecture from Universidad Católica de Chile (1977). His projects have been awarded with the Andrea Palladio International Prize (1991), the International Award of the Bienal Iberoamericana de Quito (2004), and the Gold Medal of the Miami Biennale (2005). In 2009 he was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture.