Self-abased Chapel

SELF-ABASED CHAPEL

Rengarch

Self-abased Chapel
© Xintong Shi

ARCHITECTS
Rengarch

ENGINEERING
Wei Zhang

CLIENT
Beijing Fengshiguangju Tourism Development Co. Ltd.

CONSULTANTS
Huanjun Cheng And His Team

MANUFACTURERS
Beijing Caishi Floor Tiles, Beijing Jiayu Building Materials, Beijing Yilong Shengxing New Building Materials Co., Ltd.

DESIGN TEAM
Rengran Zhang, Xintong Shi, Yunlong Gao, Wei Zhang, Wenxin Chen

PHOTOGRAPHS
Xintong Shi, Bo Lv, Bin Zhang

AREA
576 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Beijing, China

CATEGORY
House

Self-abased Chapel
Mountain and building. Image © Bo Lv

Text description provided by architect.

Starting in 2018, the RENGARCH designed a residential building in Housuotun Village, surrounded by mountains in Yanqing district of Beijing. 

The site plan included a chapel, a tower of childhood and an accommodation area. Regarded as different time points, the chapel for adults and the tower of childhood coexist on the same space line, metaphorizing the growth in life and bringing a unique memory to the local village.

Self-abased Chapel
© Bo Lv
Self-abased Chapel
Self-abased chapel. Image © Xintong Shi

SELF-ABASED CHAPEL

There is a small hill which commands an overall view of the village, as the chapel inserts into layers of tiles on the rooftop.

The chapel, pointed by the arc wall in the center, is actually an architecture inclining to south. With a hole towards south on the top opening a channel, sunlight enters the inner space.

Self-abased Chapel
South view of the Tower of Childhood. Image © Xintong Shi
Self-abased Chapel
Mountain view. Image © Bin Zhang

Wherever sunshine can reach, so does the rainwater, which slowly slides down along the wall, gathers at the bottom and flows out.

The upper and lower openings form a passage for wind. Visitors can contemplate and leave through a low door. The erected wall extends the atmosphere and leads your eyes to the east after a turn.

Light, rain, and wind seem to be amplified in a tightly closed space container. The greater sound of rain and wind in the senses, the light and shadow flowing from day to night, make people feel nature, as the article said at the beginning: facing nature, facing yourself.

Self-abased Chapel
Guest room. Image © Bin Zhang
Self-abased Chapel
East view of the Tower of Childhood. Image © Bin Zhang

TOWER OF CHILDHOOD

Different from the experience in the chapel, Tower of Childhood is more like the start point of a story. Like a slide, the tower can be experienced up and down.

Below the outdoor stair is a sand pit for playing around. Inside the tower, colorfully painted, is a small world where kids can climb willfully.

START FROM THE OLD PRUNE TREE

The old prune tree, which grew in the courtyard and carried the whole family’s memory, becomes the initial clue of design. The arc wall around the prune tree horizontally deployed the spatial layout on the ground.

Self-abased Chapel
The chapel and Guanyin Temple on the southern hillside. Image © Xintong Shi
Self-abased Chapel
Aerial view. Image Courtesy of RENGARCH

ACCOMMODATION AREA

The accommodation area contains seven rooms. Three chimneys stick out from the roof and shape the gradually rising-up spaces.

On the second floor, two rooms on the east share a roof terrace where guests can arrive through a steel stair and complete the dialogue to the mountain.

Self-abased Chapel
View from the Guanyin Temple on the southern hillside to the building in surrounding environment. Image © Xintong Shi


Self-abased Chapel
Inner space of the chapel. Image © Bo Lv
Self-abased Chapel
Inner space of the chapel. Image © Bo Lv
Self-abased Chapel
Exterior of the chapel. Image © Bin Zhang


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1F floor plan
Self-abased Chapel
2F floor plan


Self-abased Chapel
section
Self-abased Chapel
Elevation


Self-abased Chapel
Site plan
Self-abased Chapel
Axonometric drawing