peter zumthor's caplutta sogn benedetg in sumvitg, switzerland.

I've been in love with the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor for a wee bit, a love consummated when we stopped in a few years ago to visit the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel in Germany as we drove to Stuttgart. Zumthor reminds me of a modern Rudolf Schindler in the use of minimalism, creativity, and affordable construction. Such is the case of the Caplutta Sogn Benedetg (Saint Benedict Chapel) just outside of Sumvitg, Switzerland.

In 1984, an avalanche destroyed the original church, dating from the 1200s (a common theme it seems...). Zumthor won the design competition with this design. Although some sources suggest he built his church on the site of the original church, we can testify that this is not true since the original site is still extent with the ruins (and a park) on it and Zumthor's church a short distance away around the hill. 

Built in 1988, Zumthor's design reflects the local vernacular architecture in materials but also something new in its design. In plan it evokes a teardrop, pointed uphill, a nod to diverting future avalanches as well as an architectural acknowledgment of the sadness of losing the old space (as well as [perhaps] a nod to how we all lose everything in the end [the tears of Jesus...]).

Although small and simple in design, the chapel is breathtaking in its beauty and austere quiet. The space is naturally lit by a round ribbon of clerestory windows, too high to see out of, restricting the interior view to the soul. 

Le Corbusier's Saint Pierre in Firminy, France

After bidding adieu to La Tourette, we high-tailed it to nearby Firminy, south of Lyon, to gawk at several Le Corbusiers.

 Saint Pierre is another one of those projects deemed "Corbu's last project." This one feels real since it started in 1970, some five years after his death, and wasn't finished until 2006 (!!!), 41 years after his death. Construction stopped in 1978 with a rough foundation of the church built:

by Peter Christian Riemann - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=147159598

Controversially, the foundations above were given historic monument status in 1983, a decree that saved the church. 

Finally, construction restarted in 2004 under the supervision of a Corbu student, José R. Oubrerie, who worked with Corbusier on the original design. The church was finished in 2006.

Corbusier mined his unrealized projects for this church, borrowing from a 1929 design for Le Tremblay:

source: https://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/oeuvre-architecture/projets-eglise-le-tremblay-le-tremblay-france-1929/

The church is simply stellar. Located on the approach to an array of Corbusier buildings (and soccer field!), it perches high, massive, and abstract. Entry is around the back where we noticed that the arches and lines along the exterior are for managing rainfall runoff: stylized concrete gutters. They appear abstract but are completely functional.

Entry in the back is to human-scaled rooms. The chamber, which explodes above you, is up a flight of stairs. Similar to La Tourette, Corbu used indirect light and painted concrete to carry color into the dark space. Direct light is carried into the space through small circular holes seemingly shotgunned into the building, an intent of the architect. Light cannons quietly fire above in red, yellow, and blue.

The space is truly magical. For a nominal ticket price, you are allowed to wander, sit, and enjoy as long as you want. It would be wonderful to have stayed long enough for a service (although not officially sanctified, the church is noted to be Roman Catholic). This is the Modernist, minimalist answer to cathedrals, and it filled us with the same awe. The starkness is perhaps more appropriate, discrete beacons of light emitting from cold, gray concrete.