What is good architecture? More than two thousand years ago, Vitruvius would have answered that good architecture is that which contemplates three basic principles: firmitas (firmness), utilitas (utility), and venustas (beauty), as he described in his treatise De Architectura, and probably no one would have questioned it. Today, this broad question is capable of eliciting hundreds of answers, all personal and subjective, which have to do with the experience of each person.
One view of good architecture is that which seeks to arouse emotions in the user, which seeks to create unique and unforgettable experiences, related to the typology and context of the work. Architecture that becomes poetry, that generates sensations that cannot be described or translated into words: ineffable spaces.
It was precisely these concepts that Le Corbusier pursued with the design and construction of the Notre Dame du Haut Chapel in Ronchamp, France. With this project, Le Corbusier moved away from the machinist and even rationalist approaches of his early period to try out a new formal experience. He went from promoting a universal character in his projects, with standardized principles, to giving himself over to a fully individual response that would lead him to create a timeless and enigmatic work.
