Chapel of Saint Peter, Campos de Jordão
São Paulo, Brazil · 1987
A precedent for Brazilian Brutalism, demonstrating how a heavy, expressive concrete roof can be paired with a delicate glass envelope to create a transparent, light-filled pavilion on a sloping site.
- What we like about this project
- The internal concrete ramp appears to float freely behind the glass facade without touching the perimeter.
Materials
- exposed-concrete
- glass
- steel
Visual identifiers
- concrete-roof-slab
- glass-pavilion
- internal-concrete-ramp
- steel-mullions
- faceted-geometry
Style tags
- brutalist
- modernist
- brazilian-modernism
Visual tags
- brazilian-brutalisim
- floating-mass
- transparency
- sloping-site
- pavilion
- sacred-architecture
- Geometry
- A heavy, board-marked concrete roof slab with a faceted, irregular polygonal perimeter floats above a delicate, steel-framed glass curtain wall. The glass enclosure wraps around an internal concrete ramp and platform system that steps down into a lower level.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed glass curtain wall with minimal profiles.
- Structural guess
- Central concrete columns supporting a cantilevered concrete roof slab and internal ramp system.
- Spatial scale
- A small-scale public or religious pavilion, approximately two stories tall, designed to accommodate small gatherings.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casts strong shadows on the grassy foreground, while the glass facade reflects the deep blue sky and distant trees, creating a play of transparency and reflection.
- Atmosphere
- A striking contrast between the weight of raw concrete and the absolute lightness of glass, grounded in a serene landscape.
- Environmental context
- Set on a grassy slope with a traditional tiled-roof building in the background, surrounded by manicured gardens and native trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as a transparent pavilion suspended between a heavy concrete crown and a concrete base. Visitors inside are highly visible, moving along ramps that negotiate the sloping topography, while the glass reflects the surrounding landscape.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal band of the concrete roof is balanced by the fine vertical grid of the steel-framed glazing.
- Style reading
- Paulista School Brutalism
- Program
- Chapel or exhibition pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- exposed-concrete, glass, steel
- Visual identifiers
- concrete-roof-slab, glass-pavilion, internal-concrete-ramp, steel-mullions, faceted-geometry
- Style tags
- brutalist, modernist, brazilian-modernism
- Visual tags
- brazilian-brutalisim, floating-mass, transparency, sloping-site, pavilion, sacred-architecture
- Geometry
- A heavy, board-marked concrete roof slab with a faceted, irregular polygonal perimeter floats above a delicate, steel-framed glass curtain wall. The glass enclosure wraps around an internal concrete ramp and platform system that steps down into a lower level.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed glass curtain wall with minimal profiles.
- Structural guess
- Central concrete columns supporting a cantilevered concrete roof slab and internal ramp system.
- Spatial scale
- A small-scale public or religious pavilion, approximately two stories tall, designed to accommodate small gatherings.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casts strong shadows on the grassy foreground, while the glass facade reflects the deep blue sky and distant trees, creating a play of transparency and reflection.
- Atmosphere
- A striking contrast between the weight of raw concrete and the absolute lightness of glass, grounded in a serene landscape.
- Environmental context
- Set on a grassy slope with a traditional tiled-roof building in the background, surrounded by manicured gardens and native trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as a transparent pavilion suspended between a heavy concrete crown and a concrete base. Visitors inside are highly visible, moving along ramps that negotiate the sloping topography, while the glass reflects the surrounding landscape.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal band of the concrete roof is balanced by the fine vertical grid of the steel-framed glazing.
- Style reading
- Paulista School Brutalism
- Program
- Chapel or exhibition pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture