Ribbon Chapel

2013

ID: 00000519

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