Miami Chapel

As part of a competition by invitation to design a chapel devoted to our Lady of Guadalupe in Miami, Florida, FR-EE’s winning proposal translates the traditional iconography of the Roman Catholic Church into a contemporary parametric built form. The chapel’s innovative structure finds inspiration in the pleats of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s tilma, or cloak, gathering and turning in a vertical funnel soaring upwards to the sky and capped by a skylight. The funnel also functions as an acoustic filter. A suspended oculus displaying Our Lady of Guadalupe filters light into the presbytery, complementing the gold patina of the polished concrete surface and casting a warm, soft glow throughout the chapel’s interior.

FR-EE chose to incorporate iconography and symbolism from the wide range of regional Catholicism represented throughout Latin America, a nod to the diversity of Miami’s Latin culture. Within the folds of the pleats are 27 smaller sanctuaries, each one a representation of the different Madonnas depicted throughout the Latin American Catholic Church. The iconic shape dramatizes the ecumenical atmosphere of the cathedral, giving it a singular and instantly recognizable identity.

YEARS

2012-2013

STATUS

Competition

SCALE

3,500 m² / 37,674 ft²

LOCATION

Miami, Florida

 

CLIENT

Archdiocese of Miami

 

CONTEXT

The design is an extruded interpretation of the Our Lady of Guadalupe cloth. Each drape celebrates one of the 27 representations of Mary popular in Latin America as portrayed by the Roman Catholic Church.

 

TEAM

Fernando Romero, Brian Slocum, Mauricio Ceballos, Joana Gomes, Raymundo Zamora, Astrid Rovisco, Juan Pablo Huerta, Leni Farenzena, Adrian Kralik, Liliana Viveros, Cristian Lera, Raúl Soria, Guillermo Paredes, Orlando Gómez, Diego Velázquez, Dany Celiseo.

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