Field Chapel, Boedigheim Germany, Students of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 2009

"In January of 2008, the Reverend Moser-Feesche contacted Ecker Architekten with the intent to build a chapel. He had no funding, held no property, and did not have the support of his con-gregation. He did however, have a specific idea about what this building should be and where it should be located."

"...when arriving at the site, a narrow footpath leads between an existing hedge and the blank tower facade to a small gravel forecourt, which is bounded on 2 sides with massive benches made of local limestone. This forecourt represents the secular realm. A brick platform rises from this forecourt, upon which visitors enter a closed patio and ultimately the sanctuary. This platform traverses the profane to the divine."

"Apart from the architectural filigree of the tower enclosure, the building appears traditional in its construction. It has a simple shape, and is formally related to both the Biblical Temple of Solomon and to vernacular tobacco-drying barns still found in the region.

The entire wooden construction rests on 8 steel moment-frame anchors, which are sized to expose a thin gap between the massive brick platform and the timber structure. This articulated joint makes the heavy building appear to hover weightlessly above the ground plane."

photos and text from archdaily.