Picote Chapel

Architecture and Landscape

Abstract

This text aims to examine the Chapel of Our Lady of Fátima in Picote (1956–59), designed by the architect Nunes de Almeida (1924–2014), in light of its relationship to landscape, architecture, and religious purpose. Conceived as an anchor facility within a settlement that served the dam of the same name (1953–59), the project, although grounded in a classical structural order, is radically modern, simultaneously invoking Asplund and Mies van der Rohe. Through its portico and peristyle structure, which axially articulates and shelters the forecourt, the nave, and the altar in sequence, a clear opposition is established between the open space of celebration—mediating the relationship between human and nature—and the enclosed space dedicated to the relationship between human and God. It is precisely at this juncture, I would argue, that the Chapel of Picote attains both its meaning and its unexpected originality. The resulting liturgical paradox is at once challenging and compelling.