Norris Chapel

I started this project by coming up with thesis words that would describe the architecture. First off I was interested in Mist, because of how it can be so many different things depending on the size and scale of the mist. Obscurity is the second, and I was most interested in that because of how the Norris Dam obscures this massive reservoir of water, and while there are some hints of how large the reservoir is you don’t really see just how large until you get to a different view. The third is color, which is interesting because of the life that it can bring and how it can be used to create depth where there isn’t any.

 

I created a chapel that challenges the dam’s dominance on the site, yet uses enough of the same elements that exist in the dam in order to ground the chapel and to make it seem like it belongs on the site as much as the dam does. I challenged the linear solidity of the dam by using boxy forms on the southern approach side of the structure, however when you proceed to the other side and the interior there are vertical, curving louvres that are as fluid as the water the dam holds back, compounded with the boxes that they intersect with and the curving path in the center.

 

The chapel is located over where there is currently a parking lot, as that area is close enough to hear the waves crashing on the shore but not close enough to be overwhelmed by the roar from the dam whenever they are releasing water. Whenever I visited the site, the parking lot and the retaining wall along the west side of the lot is where I spent the majority of my time while I was there, which is why I decided to expose the natural red clay underneath to make it a more forgiving environment for community events.