Bosjes Chapel thin shell architectural canopy from Steyn Studio 2024

Bosjes chapel is a uniquely shaped chapel designed by Steyn Studio, studying it provides knowledge about interesting thin-shell architecture.

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Some details about Bosjes Chapel and the Bosjes Chapel architectural roof

Bosjes Chapel was designed by architect Coetzee Steyn, who was born in South Africa but lives and works in Steyn Studio based in London. Groundnut plantation in a vineyard setting in South Africa's Western Cape. Its shape mimics the silhouette of the surrounding mountains, historic Cape Dutch gables dotting the region's rural landscape.

Constructed from a thin cast concrete shell, Bosjes Chapel architectural roof undulating to form six load-bearing peaks at the four lowest points of the roof touching the ground. Beneath the roof, extensive glass panels are framed with wood to create the appearance of crosses. The six-meter-tall building is conceived as a light, dynamic structure that appears to float in the valley. valley, an effect emphasized by an adjacent reflecting pond.

Mái che kiến trúc Bosjes Chapel sáng tạo hoà mình với thiên nhiên - Ảnh: Adam Letch
Creative Bosjes Chapel architectural canopy blends with nature - Photo: Adam Letch

Math problems in the process of calculating the roof structure of Bosjes Chapel architecture

To allow for thermal movement, the roof and floor structures are completely separated by a channel around the perimeter at the point where the glass meets the floor, and underneath there is also a basement for storage and cleaning system. All formwork is purpose-built, and designed as a prefabricated truss system with a curved plywood layer. It took nearly five months to construct the formwork on site.

A complex FDM structural model is constructed to create a surface with the smallest and most evenly spread surface possible. Structural part of Bosjes Chapel architectural roof designed by Henry Fagan The connection details hidden inside, even the power transmission point and drainage system to the floor, are carefully calculated so that the structure is like a thin shell floating above the water surface.

To ensure uniformity during construction, one module is installed Bosjes Chapel architectural roof deployed repeatedly 8 times to create the roof system.

Thiết kế chi tiết kết cấu của mái che kiến trúc Bosjes Chapel
Detailed structural design of the Bosjes Chapel architectural roof

Constructing the thin shell architecture of Bosjes Chapel is a challenge

The complex roof of the Bojes Chapel is 20 meters long, 12 meters wide and 6 meters high at the top. The professional and project team chose shotcrete as the project construction material. Due to the complexity of the roof form, 3D CAD models were used to calculate the volume of materials required. The shell consists of 74 cubic meters of concrete and 8175 kg of high-strength steel reinforcement. It is supported by four hidden reinforced concrete platforms, each with a vertical load of nearly 50 tons.

Due to the unusual shape of the shell, each rebar (top and bottom) had to be individually cut and bent by hand to fit. Concrete is poured as shotcrete – launched with compressed air at high velocity through a hose. This had to be done from mobile platforms and was frequently delayed by strong winds and rain, taking six weeks instead of the two initially calculated.

Learn how to 3D render Bosjes Chapel

With a curved and complex roof form, using modern software to balance architectural proportions and calculate structures is really important. Flexiiform introduces a very useful video describing the process of creating ideas using Rhino Grasshopper software from Parametric house.



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Tensile fabric can be completely shaped according to the shape of the Bosjes Chapel roof

In addition to thin shell concrete materials, stretched canvas roof is also a bright choice for complex forms with high shaping requirements. A project with a curvy shape similar to the form of Bosjes Chapel must include the design of world-famous female architect Zaha Hadid at the project. The Serpentine Sackler Gallery in 2013.

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