Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Chapel is a small concrete chapel built by local farmers in a field in Wachendorf, southern Germany. It was cast in concrete around a cluster of 120 tree trunks, cut from a local forest, which were then slowly smoked away. This is a form of béton brut, wood imprinted concrete, but it leaves you with a much greater sense of what was once there. The funnel shape with an oculus that provides the only light for the small dark space reminds me of a chimney, which relates back to my idea of a destroyed fireplace. I would like to use this idea of burning away to create an empty space for my void.
I would also like to use conventional béton brut for my interior rooms, as there is a false sense of warmth attributed to the use of timber, which is only a surface finish. The space would still be cold and hard, but like the couple, you could ignore it and pretend it is not really concrete.
