Platinum Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2020
Cloud of Luster Wedding Chapel
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: 117 Group
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,088,052
- Verification code 9AB97E2D79 · Verify this award
About Cloud of Luster Wedding Chapel
The Cloud of luster is a wedding chapel located inside a wedding ceremony hall in Himeji city, Japan. The design tries to translate the modern wedding ceremony spirit into physical space. The chapel is all white, a cloud shape enveloped almost entirely in curved glass opening it to the surrounding garden and water basin. The columns are toped in hyperbolic capital like heads smoothly connecting them to the minimalistic ceiling. The chapel socle on the basin side is a hyperbolic curve allowing the whole structure to appear as if it is floating on the water and accentuate its lightness.
Within the continuum of contemporary sacred architecture, this wedding chapel by Tetsuya Matsumoto represents a profound meditation on the ceremonies of human union and the spaces that might most meaningfully contain such transformative moments. The structure appears to draw upon multiple architectural lineages simultaneously: the organic expressionism pioneered by practitioners who sought buildings that breathed and flowed like living organisms, the transparency explorations of modernist glass pavilions, and the tensile membrane innovations that have expanded architecture's formal vocabulary beyond rigid geometries. The designer seems to propose that sacred space need not rely upon historical ecclesiastical typologies but might instead achieve spiritual resonance through material lightness, formal grace, and sensitive environmental dialogue. The composition demonstrates sophisticated understanding of reflection as architectural strategy, deploying the water plane to double visual complexity while introducing meditative qualities associated with still water across countless contemplative traditions. The tapering columns merit particular attention for their achievement of structural necessity transformed into sculptural poetry, their organic profiles suggesting both vegetal growth and the graceful stems of ceremonial flowers. The nocturnal presentation intensifies the chapel's phenomenological impact, with interior illumination transforming the structure into a beacon whose glow suggests warmth, welcome, and the luminosity traditionally associated with sacred presence. One might contemplate how architecture shapes memory and whether spaces of such deliberate beauty might imprint themselves upon the consciousness of those who gather within them during life's most significant transitions.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The cloud of Luster is a wedding chapel designed to translate the contemporary wedding spirit into physical space. The chapel is part of a wedding ceremony hall in Himeji city, Japan. The Cloud shaped Chapel is all white, a minimalistic ceiling free of any technical equipment is supported by round columns with a hyperbolic cone head. The interior space is enveloped in round Glass opening it to the Garden and an outside basin, letting daylight fill the space and brighten the hearts.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Gross Built Area: 245sqm
W33325mm x D15673mm x H5240mm - Tags
- Japan, wedding, chapel, glass, white, minimalism, reflection, garden, water, pavilion
- Production Technology
- The chapel is supported by a metallic frame structure. The foundations and the hyperbolic bases on the basin side are all made in reinforced concrete. All the white parts of the walls, columns, capitals, and ceiling are finished in an organic material called Joly-Pat produced by AICA. The capital like forms have a wooden base. And the floor was covered in glass beads coated in resin. The curved glass is 10mm thick and is supported by double 19mm thick clear glass fins.
- Design Challenge
- The simplicity of this design is a way to engrave a simpler image in the Peoples mind, with a focus on the newlywed couple. The organic shapes call for a more natural spirit and smoother life. No hard angles, no limit to the sky, a dreamy space where all can be possible. the second step was to find the best balance of shapes and dimensions and produce the whole image with respect to budget especially using curved glass and unconventional AC and lighting systems.
- Project Duration
- Project start: December 2017.
Construction start: November 2018.
Project/Construction End: March 2019.
Location: Designed and constructed in Himeji City, Japan. - Operation Flow
- The outside approach connects the main ceremony hall building to the entrance of the chapel. This gives directly to the central aisle leading to the Atrium. This part is up lit through a glass floor. In the back, a semi closed space for the organ followed by the maintenance room where the air-conditioning and other pieces of machinery are placed. On the courtyard side the approach is elevated using steps like an Amphitheatre allowing to take group pictures on the sunny side of the court.
- Research
- The Cloud of Luster Chapel is a trial to materialize the spirit of Wedding day into physical space. the modern wedding ceremonies are all about white and bright colors, glittering materials and shiny reflections. However, weddings tend to be kitsch with overabundance of decoration and colors overcharging the image and making it more difficult to remember. The challenge was to create a Chapel that translates the wedding spirit into physical space.
- Inspiration
- The design for Cloud of Luster was inspired by the modern wedding ceremonies in Japan. These are all about the lightness, the brightness, and the smooth transition towards a happy future family life. The lines needed to be naturally curvy and the space needed to be open to receive as much light as possible. the columns needed to feel official as the ceremony is taking place and yet be as smooth and glamorous to spread the happiness of the moment.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, Cloud of Luster, 2019.
Image #2: photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, Cloud of Luster, 2019.
Image #3: photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, Cloud of Luster, 2019.
Image #4: photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, Cloud of Luster, 2019.
Image #5: photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, Cloud of Luster, 2019.
Colors of Cloud of Luster Wedding Chapel
Get Cloud of Luster Wedding Chapel
Award-Winning Contemporary Architecture Services
We specialize in creating exceptional commercial and ceremonial spaces that transcend the ordinary. Our portfolio spans from intimate retail environments to grand wedding chapels, each designed with meticulous attention to light, form, and human experience.
G0E23 Shop