The Sunny Rio Roca Chapel

The Rio Roca Chapel is located in Palo Pinto County, Texas and it has a design that really makes it look divine. The chapel is very sunny and bright and it’s also a warm and inviting place thanks to the materials used. It was a project by Maurice Jennings + Walter Jennings Architects and it was completed in 2010.

The chapel covers an area of 1,080 square feet and it has a wooden structure with a simple design. The wood itself is a friendly and beautiful material but it wouldn’t be able to result in such an eye-catching structure. In this case, it was combined with opulent textures that, along with the landscape, create a very beautiful look. The chapel has a copper roof and a lightweight structure combined with tension bars and turnbuckles. It’s basically a mix of wood and steel elements woven together.

The visitors enter the chapel through a stone retaining wall and they then reach a space from where the panoramic, splendid views can be admired. The chapel wouldn’t be the same without the landscape and the views and these are the elements that make it so beautiful. The purpose of this project was to create a divine space and to emphasize its beauty with the help of the surrounding environment. It’s why the architects chose such a simple design. It was a clever strategy of redirecting the attention towards the exterior.