Chapel of the Slot
Location
Viana do Castelo
Year
2019
Area
140 m²
Client
Paróquia de Areosa
Status
Completed
(01) Overview
A small parish chapel lit by one slot in the roof, aligned with the sunrise on the feast of its patron saint.
The parish asked for a place of quiet on a windy coastal hill. The chapel is a closed concrete box with a single opening: a 12-metre slot in the ceiling, 30 centimetres wide.
An instrument for one morning
On 29 June each year, the rising sun passes directly through the slot and draws a line of light down the altar wall. The rest of the year, the slot gives a soft, shifting glow that needs no electric light during services.
The benches are oak, the floor is local granite and the door is a single pivoting slab of concrete, heavy enough to feel like a threshold.
(02) More work
