Thursday, November 12, 2015

Spectacular Concrete Buildings from Across the Globe – Sunset Chapel




The Conco Companies have been busy working on several structures in the Western U.S. that are slated to become iconic landmarks for their region such as the Wilshire Grand Center in L.A. and the Salesforce Tower in S.F.  Today, concrete is one of the key ingredients in many contemporary architectural projects worldwide.  Referred to as “liquid stone” at the outset, the material is malleable, durable and allows for countless incredible engineering feats to be undertaken.  

One extremely interesting project that was built a couple of years ago is the Sunset Chapel overlooking the Acapulco Bay in Mexico.  Designed by brothers Esteban and Sebastián Suárez of the BNKR Arquitectura firm, the architects were tasked with making the chapel a suitable setting for weddings as well as a place to mourn the dead.  The owners also wanted the sun to set “exactly behind the altar cross” (of course, this is only possible twice a year at the equinoxes). And last but not least, a section with the first phase of crypts had to be included outside and around the Sunset chapel.”

In order to seamlessly blend in with the surrounding area, the chapel was designed to look like another of the gigantic boulders that fills the mountainside on which the building sits.  To lessen any environmental impact to the area and eliminate the need to remove trees and boulders as well as take advantage of the majestic views, the chapel was raised at least five meters and the footprint of the building is almost half the floor area as that of the upper level.  Although not that large at only 120 square meters in size, the chapel creates a beautiful, imposing structure. 

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States. We have built a reputation on superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  We have four regional offices to serve Southern and Northern California, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

Source:arcspace.com/features/bnkr-arquitectura/sunset-chapel/


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