Original name
Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut
Other denominations
Chapelle de Ronchamp
Original use
Religious/centre of worship
Current use
Religious/centre of worship
Architects
Le Corbusier
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
Trussed beams are the cheapest solution for the execution of large spans, in other words, when there are large distances between vertical supports. In reality, this type of beam is a kind of lattice, made up of a series of shorter braces (posts and struts).
Trussed beams are usually made of steel or wood, since some of the elements of the structure will be subject to compression and others to traction. As such, it is unusual for structures of this type to be built only with concrete. Using a combination of concrete for compression and steel to absorb traction results in better structural performance.
State of Conservation
Description
For years, this famous chapel on the top of a hill was a difficult building for historians of art and architecture to classify: its curved, organic forms ran counter to the aesthetic and canonical discourse of modern architecture, largely founded on the work of its architect, Le Corbusier.
Built on the ruins of an old chapel destroyed by bombs during the Second World War, the old masonry was reused as the base for the new structure, formed by a series of thick, curved walls with a varied section and detached in plan. The walls are perforated by points of multicolored light in the form of recessed windows. They fold and curl over themselves, generating spaces that are set apart from the main nave to house small chapels. These same walls are elongated vertically above the chapels to form skylights that qualify the space in section. The highest of these vertical volumes also serves as a bell tower.
Embedded in the thickness of the solid walls are the pillars that support the surprising concrete roof, whose section recalls an airplane wing reinforced by interior ribs and braces. This structural solution generates a sliver of light between the walls and the roof, which loses all its heaviness and seems to float above the space of the interior.
The building’s exterior is characterized by the rustic finish of the sprayed concrete, while the masterful treatment of light qualifies the different interior spaces.
France
Rue de la Chapelle 13
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Région), Haute-Saône (Département) 70250 Ronchamp
Commission
1953
Completion
1955