This dramatic chapel, designed by Ryyuich Ashizawa, accepts all faiths and is free from iconography. It was hoped that the huge window facing over the sea would imbue the space with a sense of the sacred. <br /><br />Images via <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fusshop.gestalten.com%2Fcloser-to-god.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">"Closer to God: Religious Architecture and Sacred Spaces"</a>
Setre Chapel, Japan —
This dramatic chapel, designed by Ryyuich Ashizawa, accepts all faiths and is free from iconography. It was hoped that the huge window facing over the sea would imbue the space with a sense of the sacred.

Images via "Closer to God: Religious Architecture and Sacred Spaces"
Courtesy Gestalten
Located next to a graveyard outside of Ljubljana, this curvaceous chapel by Ofis Arhitekti mimics the slopes of the surrounding landscape.
Farewell Chapel, Slovenia —
Located next to a graveyard outside of Ljubljana, this curvaceous chapel by Ofis Arhitekti mimics the slopes of the surrounding landscape.
Courtesy Gestalten
Located on the banks of a lake just outside of Kyoto, this minimalist white temple is in honor of maternal ancestors. Architects Takashi Yamaguchi & Associates wanted to create a space that would envelope the visitor like the inside of a womb.
White Temple, Japan —
Located on the banks of a lake just outside of Kyoto, this minimalist white temple is in honor of maternal ancestors. Architects Takashi Yamaguchi & Associates wanted to create a space that would envelope the visitor like the inside of a womb.
Courtesy Gestalten
This temporary chapel, by Localarchitecture and the Bureau d'Architecture Danilo Mondada, was put on site while builders spent 18 months completing a much bigger structure.
Chapel for the Deaconesses of St. Loup, Switzerland —
This temporary chapel, by Localarchitecture and the Bureau d'Architecture Danilo Mondada, was put on site while builders spent 18 months completing a much bigger structure.
Courtesy Gestalten
Built on the site of a demolished 18th century church, this minimalist chapel by Lassila Hirvilammi Architects was created using 18th century building techniques.
Karsamaki Church, Finland —
Built on the site of a demolished 18th century church, this minimalist chapel by Lassila Hirvilammi Architects was created using 18th century building techniques.
Courtesy Gestalten
The brief for this building was to create a space without traditional Christian symbolism.
Chapel of Silence, Finland —
The brief for this building was to create a space without traditional Christian symbolism.
Courtesy Gestalten
Made almost entirely of wood, the chapel features an intricate carving of a tree, a modern take on the traditional leadlight window. Designed by Vesa Oiva.
Lilja Chapel of Silence, Finland —
Made almost entirely of wood, the chapel features an intricate carving of a tree, a modern take on the traditional leadlight window. Designed by Vesa Oiva.
Courtesy Gestalten
Located in the mountains of Nagano, Japan, this elegant Buddhist temple was built with a thick concrete roof to withstand heavy snowfall. Designed by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates.
Chushinji Temple, Japan —
Located in the mountains of Nagano, Japan, this elegant Buddhist temple was built with a thick concrete roof to withstand heavy snowfall. Designed by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates.
Courtesy Gestalten
From the outside, this church, designed by Undurraga Devés Arquitectos, appears like a concrete bunker. But step inside and you'll find old railway sleepers line the walls, and light floods upwards from the floor.
Chapel del Retiro, Chile —
From the outside, this church, designed by Undurraga Devés Arquitectos, appears like a concrete bunker. But step inside and you'll find old railway sleepers line the walls, and light floods upwards from the floor.
Courtesy Gestalten
The pine wood interior of this one-room chapel in rural Chile emanates a warm glow, a striking contrast against the gray aluminium exterior. Designed by Baladron & Grass.
Junquillos Chapel, Chile —
The pine wood interior of this one-room chapel in rural Chile emanates a warm glow, a striking contrast against the gray aluminium exterior. Designed by Baladron & Grass.
Courtesy Gestalten
The center, which incorporates traditional geometric Islamic design into its structure, aims to offer a cultural space for the progressive Ismaili community in Europe, to promote better understanding amongst its people and others of different background and origin.
Lisbon Ismaili Center, Portugal —
The center, which incorporates traditional geometric Islamic design into its structure, aims to offer a cultural space for the progressive Ismaili community in Europe, to promote better understanding amongst its people and others of different background and origin.
Courtesy Gestalten
Munich's new Church of the Sacred Heart is an open, bright and lively building with a flowing modular transition from the churchyard through the vestibule into the nave -- a rejection of the restrictive symbolism of a massive enclosure.
Church of the Sacred Heart, Germany —
Munich's new Church of the Sacred Heart is an open, bright and lively building with a flowing modular transition from the churchyard through the vestibule into the nave -- a rejection of the restrictive symbolism of a massive enclosure.
Courtesy Gestalten
"Create an interdenominational chapel, a space for people in search of God, a place for quiet reflection, but also one that welcomes hikers and cyclists who appreciate a rest stop with a sense of beauty." This was the brief given to 12 students from the Illinois Institute of Technology who designed this simple structure.
Bodigheim Field Chapel, Germany —
"Create an interdenominational chapel, a space for people in search of God, a place for quiet reflection, but also one that welcomes hikers and cyclists who appreciate a rest stop with a sense of beauty." This was the brief given to 12 students from the Illinois Institute of Technology who designed this simple structure.
Courtesy Gestalten
Effortlessly opening to the surrounding desert, the innovative 250-seat glass and steel prayer chapel sits atop four site-cast, pin-wheeling concrete walls. The double-skinned Pavilion of Light is composed of shading and insulating systems.
Effortlessly opening to the surrounding desert, the innovative 250-seat glass and steel prayer chapel sits atop four site-cast, pin-wheeling concrete walls. The double-skinned Pavilion of Light is composed of shading and insulating systems. —
Effortlessly opening to the surrounding desert, the innovative 250-seat glass and steel prayer chapel sits atop four site-cast, pin-wheeling concrete walls. The double-skinned Pavilion of Light is composed of shading and insulating systems.
Courtesy Gestalten
If you thought funeral parlors had to be gray and grim, think again. Designed by GJL Architekten Grube Jakel and Löffler, this building uses yellow quartz floors, oak furnishings, and skylights to create a light-filled space for reflection and celebration.
Karlsruhe Oberreut Funeral Parlor, Germany —
If you thought funeral parlors had to be gray and grim, think again. Designed by GJL Architekten Grube Jakel and Löffler, this building uses yellow quartz floors, oak furnishings, and skylights to create a light-filled space for reflection and celebration.
Courtesy Gestalten
Commissioned to design a church in accordance with the ideas and requirements of the Diocesan Council of Temples and the Parish of Santa Monica, this building incorporates all the facilities pertaining to the church, the parish offices and the priest's accommodation in a single space, while simultaneously asserting itself as an architectural milestone.
Santa Monica Parish Center, Spain —
Commissioned to design a church in accordance with the ideas and requirements of the Diocesan Council of Temples and the Parish of Santa Monica, this building incorporates all the facilities pertaining to the church, the parish offices and the priest's accommodation in a single space, while simultaneously asserting itself as an architectural milestone.
Courtesy Gestalten
This remarkable round church, by Reitermann Sassenroth Architekten, was built on the site of a former church which was near the Berlin Wall and blown up in 1985.
Chapel of Reconciliation, Germany —
This remarkable round church, by Reitermann Sassenroth Architekten, was built on the site of a former church which was near the Berlin Wall and blown up in 1985.
Courtsey Gestalten
A wedding chapel is a place where rings are exchanged, and couples united. So it makes sense that this sleek structure in Osaka is adorned with interlocked steel rings. Designed by Jun Aoki & Associates.
White Chapel, Japan —
A wedding chapel is a place where rings are exchanged, and couples united. So it makes sense that this sleek structure in Osaka is adorned with interlocked steel rings. Designed by Jun Aoki & Associates.
Courtesy Gestalten
Built on a strip of wasteland near another synagogue destroyed in pogroms 68 years ago, this modern complex includes a community center, synagogue, and museum.
Jewish Center, Germany —
Built on a strip of wasteland near another synagogue destroyed in pogroms 68 years ago, this modern complex includes a community center, synagogue, and museum.
Courtesy Gestalten
Inside the dramatic building designed by Wandel Hoefer Lorch, a glass and steel roof floods the synagogue with light.
Jewish Center, Germany —
Inside the dramatic building designed by Wandel Hoefer Lorch, a glass and steel roof floods the synagogue with light.
Courtesy Gestalten
Over time, the copper surface of this chapel will eventually turn green, blending in with the surrounding lush landscape...
St. Henry's Ecumenical Art Chapel, Finland —
Over time, the copper surface of this chapel will eventually turn green, blending in with the surrounding lush landscape...
Courtesy Gestalten
Step inside and you'll find the arched pine wood ribs leading to a back-lit alter. Designed by Sanaksenaho Architects.
St. Henry's Ecumenical Art Chapel, Finland —
Step inside and you'll find the arched pine wood ribs leading to a back-lit alter. Designed by Sanaksenaho Architects.
Courtesy Gestalten
This installation in the Northumberland countryside, was designed by Fashion Architecture Taste, and based on a Romanesque church. The fantastical building was covered in thousands of metal discs which created a rippling effect in the wind.
You make me feel mighty real, UK —
This installation in the Northumberland countryside, was designed by Fashion Architecture Taste, and based on a Romanesque church. The fantastical building was covered in thousands of metal discs which created a rippling effect in the wind.
Courtesy Gestalten
Situated in the heart of the city, this 39,000 square meter monolith towers above the Hollywood Freeway, one of the major traffic arteries of Los Angeles.
Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, L.A. —
Situated in the heart of the city, this 39,000 square meter monolith towers above the Hollywood Freeway, one of the major traffic arteries of Los Angeles.
Courtesy Gestalten
Situated on the site of multiple earthquakes in Perugia, Italy, the San Paolo Parish Complex was given the go-ahead in 2001 after winning a national competition. In announcing its decision, the jury hailed the project as "a sign of innovation ... and symbol of rebirth for the city after the earthquake."
San Paolo Parish Complex, Italy —
Situated on the site of multiple earthquakes in Perugia, Italy, the San Paolo Parish Complex was given the go-ahead in 2001 after winning a national competition. In announcing its decision, the jury hailed the project as "a sign of innovation ... and symbol of rebirth for the city after the earthquake."
Courtesy Gestalten