Felipe Caboclo Arquitectura completes Nest Chapel in São Paulo

Felipe Caboclo Arquitectura has completed Nest Chapel, a 10-square-metre private chapel on a residential lot in São Paulo, Brazil. Completed in 2024 on a 2,000-square-metre lot adjacent to the client's 2022 home, the oblong structure is built from wood and glass and flanked by sinuous concrete walls. The design draws on influences from Le Corbusier, Tadao Ando's concrete chapels, and Richard Serra's metal landscape sculpture. Two concrete walls rise from the ground with striations from wooden formwork, evoking varvito sedimentary rock native to the Itu region. Rows of lavender line the exterior. The enclosed prayer space at the centre features laminated timber elements rising from the concrete walls to form an oval chapel, with glazing offering garden views and operable windows for cross ventilation. The slightly inclined roof is lined with Freijó wooden slats, contrasting with brushed São Gabriel black granite flooring extending from the exterior. Lead architect Felipe Caboclo described the design as creating a 'sublime path' through a single gesture. The chapel uses the same material triad as the adjacent residence: concrete, wood, and stone. Photography is by Fernando Guerra.