Chapel of Rest / MPC

Architects: MPC – Vicente Mirallave, Flora Pescador, Ángel Casas, Jin Taira
Location: San Bartolomé, Lanzarote Island, Spain
Structure: Antonio Cárdenas
Construction company: Guadayca
Client: Municipality of San Bartolomé of Lanzarote
Project area: 616 sqm
Project year: 2009 – 2010
Photographs: Jin Taira

This project provides for the extension and reform of the existing Chapel of Rest in the town of San Bartolome of Lanzarote Island (Spain) in order to resolve functional deficiencies:

- Lack of shelter spaces along the main existing building to avoid the persistent winds of the Island.
- Deficient current space layout.
- Inaccessible design for Disabled people.
- Non-existent cooling & heating infrastructure.
- Need for closing gates in the site.

The new intervention on the existing chapel of rest seeks to respect and dignify the usage of the space under a common architecture vocabulary: the white and prismatic volumes above the black volcanic grave characteristic of the Island of Lanzarote. A continuous lattice skin surrounding the project connects the extension to the existing building in order to answer to the shelter, climate and security requirements. The solution provides an integral and optimal space for the needs of the municipality of San Bartolomé based in three aspects.

An extension volume is projected in the west side of the existing building. The new addition building will provide a new entrance, a distribution space connecting with a ramp the both level of the interior garden space and a shelter environment opened to a surrounding garden to the south, and open to the views of Guatisea and Montaña Blanca Mountains. The building is a one room box of 9x9meters stepping down the mild slope of the site to resolve the height difference of 1.5 meters of the interior garden space.

A white aluminum lattice-skin connects the interior box space with the interior garden space creating a continuous sequence space that integrates the whole intervention.

A new structure is proposed in order to provide a flexible space in the existing building giving the possibility to operate in the chapel with one or two separated spaces.