St. Voile Chapel

Kasahara Design Work - Chuo-ku, Japan, 2014

Key words: Bride, Light, Slate, Veil, Wedding, White

Chapel INTERIOR - Photography: © Nacasa & Partners

The St Voile Chapel in Niigata, designed by Eriko Kasahara, presents a wedding chapel concept rooted in symbolism and material contrast. Positioned along the Shinano River, it balances its relationship with an adjacent reception hall while asserting its own distinctive identity. Externally, the slate-clad facade, with its shifting hues from orange to blue, provides a textured and secularly expressive surface, anchoring the building in its natural context. The monolithic volume avoids ornamental eaves, relying on subtle detailing and uniform surfaces to emphasize purity of form.

In contrast, the interior is defined by brightness and symbolism. The design concept, the “Wedding Veil,” draws from traditions of purity and protection, signifying transition into new life. This veil is reinterpreted architecturally through a lattice of slender rods shaped into arcs, producing a layered, fabric-like ceiling that appears to flutter. The structure captures and diffuses natural light, creating an ethereal glow that envelopes the ceremony. A large arched window behind the altar extends the motif of curves, framing the river view and enhancing the connection between ritual space and landscape.

Critically, while the chapel risks over-reliance on metaphor, it achieves a poetic architectural expression. By merging slate solidity with delicate white interiors, it embodies both permanence and transcendence, offering a sacred yet celebratory environment.