this chapel by o-office emerges as a floating pillar of light over jinting bay

a new chapel for the fishing village of shanwei

o-office architects celebrates the coastal landscape of shanwei, china with its ‘chapel of the jinting bay.’ the architecture takes shape as a glowing, white beacon of light which seems to emerge organically from the sand, backed by the city’s waterfront cityscape of high rises and distant mountains beyond. this fishing town had been urbanized within the past thirty years, seeing rapid real estate development along the coastline — although fishermen have been living and working on this strip of the land and sea for generations, sailing out for extended periods of time.

images © siming wu

o-office’s design of blended geometries

with the introduction of its chapel to the coast of jinting bay, o-office (see more here) sought to create a new ‘image of the sea.’ the place of ceremonial worship terminates the central axis of the young coastal city. the city-facing end of the chapel is defined by a low, horizontal band fronting a shallow pool. visitors approach the space by way of a long, walkway which crosses down the center of the water — a solemn promenade.

meanwhile, the sea-facing side of the chapel is an elongated, vertical pillar of light. dramatically compressed and stretched, this façade is covered by a transparent upright window. the two geometries — horizontal and vertical — blend organically together to generate the curving body of the structure like an interstitial webbing. toward the interior, this blended condition results in a sweeping ceiling which terminates with the stunning vertical frame, gazing out toward the horizon.

the floating pillar of light

the volume of o-office’s chapel of the jinting bay is elevated atop a plinth in the sand. cantilevering slightly beyond this plinth, the structure appears to float lightly above the ground. at night, the result is a floating white rectangle of light, celebrating the fishermen who will view it from afar and introducing a new luminous monument to the coastline of the shanwei.