Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut, by Le Corbusier. - Ronchamp, France.

​I visited Le Corbusier Chapel in 2013 (August 25th).

Wanted to visit this building since the first time a read about it in "architecture history" class many years before. It was my dream, and I was fortunate enough to make it happen.

​The closest airport is the "EuroAirport", 92 km (57 mi) away. This is the only airport in the world that is shared by three country: France, Switzerland, and Germany.  In the same trip I visited Basel (Switzerland, home of Herzog and De Meuron) and Weil am Rhein (home of Vitra Campus).
Both cities will have their own blog entries, hang in there!

I was impressed since the moment I stepped on site. The location, the materials, the openings, how the light affects the interior.

The beauty of the shape, and how it is revealed slowly while you climb the hill. How it direct your sight straight to the sky. It is breathtaking.

Isn't amazing how the roof seems to be floating over the walls? How this heavy looking roof levitates around this irregularly shaped walls, is like a miracle. Interesting enough for a chapel on a hill!

The south wall is a master piece on its own. Expands from O to 10' thick (east to west) and curve to the south, inviting to enter the chapel. And it owns the interior space, with openings that slant towards their centers at varying degrees, letting in light at different angles.

The roof looks heavy, but feels very light. The 10 cm gap between the roof and the walls make it look like a big concrete mass floating above you.

Le Corbusier wrote: "I have not experienced the miracle of faith but I have often known the miracle of inexpressible space, the apotheosis of plastic emotion." That could explains how an outsider could design a religious master piece.