Suzhou Chapel

The chapel is visible from the main road and along the waterfront. Its architectural language is derived from similar elements found elsewhere in the project, such as the undulating brick walls and floating white volumes – but they are here, taken to another level of articulation. The brick walls begin to break down to an even more refined scale, where different heights of walls interweave with each other to create a choreographed landscape journey leading into the building itself.

  The white volume also receives special treatment, here, it is composed of two layers. The inner layer is a simple box punctuated on all sides with scattered windows, while the outer layer is a folded and perforated metal skin, a “veil” which alternatively hides and reveals.

Inside the building, visitors continue on their guided journey through the pre-function area and then into the main chapel space, which features a light-filled 12m high space. There is a seamless integration with the surrounding nature as picture windows frame various man-made and natural landscapes. A mezzanine level hovers overhead to accommodate extra guests, and includes a catwalk encircling the space, allowing 360 degrees of viewing angles.

Suzhou Chapel, Suzhou, China
Program: religious building
Architect: Neri & Hu
Design team: Lyndon Neri & Rossana Hu, Nellie Yang, Jerry Guo, Begona Sebastian, Shirley Hsu, Dana Wu, Maia Peck, Brian Lo, Simin Qiu
Area: 700 sqm
Completion: 2016