Piano's customer was the Association Oeuvre Notre Dame du Haut, which commissioned the construction of Le Corbusier's chapel in the 1950s. According to its leadership, the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel began to be perceived as a self-sufficient object - a masterpiece of architecture, and its religious significance faded into the background. In order to return spiritual life there, it was decided to build a small Clarisse monastery nearby, for only 12 nuns. In addition, the plan called for the construction of a new visitor center.
The project caused a mixed reaction from the public, French organizations involved in the legacy of Le Corbusier tried to collect signatures on an angry petition to the Minister of Culture, in response, the Association Oeuvre Notre Dame du Haut also published an open letter. Each of the documents was signed by prominent cultural figures, including the "stars" of world architecture. Piano himself took this philosophically: in his opinion, if another architect was involved in the project, he himself would also be worried.
To keep the chapel and its surroundings intact, the new buildings are inscribed on the hillside where Le Corbusier's masterpiece stands. The upper level is occupied by an oratorio - a prayer room. Below there are 12 cells, each of which received its own garden. A bit off to the side, at the foot of the hill, is the visitor center. It replaced a separate pink building that had existed before him, which blocked the views of the chapel from the visitors ascending to it. Renzo Piano considers the demolition of this building to be a great success, and also believes that "the hill has benefited a lot" from its architectural intervention, having received a clearer and more distinct structure.
All buildings overlook the hillside with glass facades, through which sunlight enters the interior; their concrete volumes are almost completely buried in the ground. Thanks to this, they are absolutely invisible to the person who is at the chapel. Due to the significant role of natural relief in the project, the buildings can be considered fully realized only in May next year, when the landscape design by architect Michel Corajoud is ready.
N. F.
