Le Corbusier’s architecture is distinguished by its five key elements, which are present in the late modernist style of the Convent de La Tourette. The most obvious of them in this specific project are the piles or load-bearing columns, which line the interior walls and open the façade with long horizontal windows. The classic green roofs create an architectural walk.

The site was specifically chosen by Le Corbusier, he was drawn to the steep slope with far-reaching views. Each of the hundred cells has an outward-facing balcony, with common areas below and the cloister running through the roof. The structural form of the building is of reinforced concrete, with undulating glass surfaces located on three of the four facades.

Built as a chapel, the residence and place of learning for Dominican friars, the U-shaped monastery contains a central courtyard and this is enclosed by the chapel at the end.

Le Corbusier’s intention was “to give the monks what men of today need most: silence and peace… This monastery is unpretentious, it lives inside”. Although this was achieved, there are still doubts about the size of some of the cells, as well as the soundproofing and acoustics. Maintenance problems are very frequent to this day, with cracks in the concrete, faulty insulation and dangerous electrical installations.

Much of the character of this building is found inside, with floor-to-ceiling windows in common areas, such as the chapter house and refectory, presenting stunning west-facing views over the valley, library and entrance of the church.

The unequal spacing of the vertical concrete uprights and the similar and unequal divisions of the horizontal components were projected according to the proportions of Le Corbusier’s Modulor.

One of the highlights of the architectural promenade is going down the ramp to the church entrance: an austere concrete corridor with uneven glazing, but still rhythmic, leads to a rear metal wall that rotates to give access to the darkness, a blaze of color for the rest of the church.

The interior of the church reveals a concrete box that is given a spiritual essence through the use of natural light and strong colors, both of which are carefully selected and placed. The “light cannons” are presented as different types of perforations that allow natural light to enter the interior of the church. Several of these canyons stand out on the outside with sculptural forms. Colors are also present in these openings, giving the church a warm and evocative glow.

Instead, Corbusier wanted the space to be meditative and reflective in purpose. The stark white walls add to this purist mentality that when the light enters into the chapel there becomes this washed out, ethereal atmosphere. The effect of the light evokes expressive and emotional qualities that create heightened sensations in tune with the religious activities.

Ronchamp sits among a wooded terrain secluded from the rest of the commune; the chapel is placed atop a hill on the site setting itself on a metaphorical pedestal giving Ronchamp added importance. Unlike most of Corbusier’s other works consisting of boxy, functional, and sterile volumes, Ronchamp is more of an irregular sculptural form where the walls, the roof, and the floor slope. Stylistically and formally it is fairly complex; however, programmatically it is relatively simple: two entrances, an altar, and three chapels.

The walls of Ronchamp give the building its sculptural character. The thick (4’-12’ thick), gentle curving walls act as a practical method of supporting the concrete and masonry construction, as well as the massive curvilinear roof. However, the walls do not solely act as structural and sculptural elements; they also act as acoustic amplifiers, especially in the case of the eastern exterior wall that reflects the sound out over the field from the outdoor altar.

The most striking part of Ronchamp is the curved roof that peels up towards the heavens. The curving roof appears to float above the building as it is supported by embedded columns in the walls, which creates a 10 cm gap between the roof and the walls, which allow for a sliver of clerestory light. The roof is actually the only glimpse of mechanized influence in the overall design of Ronchamp; the roof’s curvature mimics the curves of an airplane wing. It’s aerodynamic in design and in all of its massive and heavy qualities it still appears weightless.

One of the most interesting aspects of the design is the sporadic window placement on the walls. Corbusier implemented small puncturing apertures on the façade that amplified the light within the chapel by tapering the window well in the wall cavity. Each wall becomes illuminated by these differing window frames, which in conjunction with the stark white washed walls gives the walls luminous qualities punctuated by a more intense direct light. On the wall behind the altar in the chapel, the lighting effects create a speckled pattern, almost like a starry night, of sparse openings that are complimented by a larger opening above the cross that emits a flood of light, creating a powerful religious image as well as a transformative experience.

From the field below Ronchamp, the curving walls and roof are what define the chapel formally. It appears as if it is growing directly from the hill itself as the curve of the roof seems to be a mirror of the curve that the chapel sits on. However once inside, the curving walls and roof no longer define the pure essence of the project, rather the light is what defines and gives meaning to the chapel experientially.

Even though, Ronchamp was a radical derivation from Le Corbusier’s other works, it still maintains some of the same principles of purity, openness, and communal sense of coming together. Ronchamp was less of a move away from the mechanistic, International Style, as it was more of a contextual response to a religious site. Ronchamp is an architecture rooted in context that’s based on modern principles, which makes Ronchamp one of the most interesting buildings of the 20th Century and of Le Corbusier’s career.

Text provided by the architect.