Ribbon Chapel

2013

ID: 000013155

The site is on the edge of a cliff overlooking the serene Seto Inland Sea in Japan. It’s an iconic design that from a far looks like a sculpture. It's a small wedding chapel in a resort hotel. Two directionally opposing spiral staircases ascending and becoming one at the top, symbolizsing two paths ending in a marriage. The structure can be regarded as a coil spring that twists and expands outward while moving up and down with pressure from above. Arup proposed a first of its kind solution to stabilize the movement by having four connections where the inner and outer spirals meet, creating a 3D bracing system and a basic structural concept of hoops. We also introduced a base isolation system to cope with seismic load and to give durability without losing design intent. Three cantilever-type tuned mass dampers were installed to reduce floor vibration for visitors’ comfort. Photo: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Arup service： Structural engineering, MEP engineering and Lighting engineering