Chapel of Saint Peter

The intention was clear from the beginning: to connect the chapel with the palace and not place it abandoned somewhere in the park. Therefore, it was decided to build it right next to the existing building, with the entrance oriented towards the access esplanade of the palace and the southern support wall. The proposed location also allowed for further welcomed measures: a tunnel was constructed as a private connection leading from the service staircase of the southern wing of the palace directly into the anteroom of the sacristy. Thus, the chapel could be designed and understood as an "Annex" – an extension to the historical architectural form. Given the type of building, a transparent, solid, and crystal-clear morphology inspired by the peaks of the Mantiqueira mountains was appropriate. The chapel is – similar to the person of Saint Peter – built firmly and simply – even in terms of sacral buildings – on a single support.

The chapel stands in the town of Campos de Jordão near the Boa Vista palace, built as the winter residence of the governor of São Paulo, which today serves as a museum of fine arts. From the outset, it was decided that the chapel should be situated close to the existing palace and engage in dialogue with it. The chapel rests on a single massive column, and the sacred space flows entirely around it. The narrow range of materials used – concrete, glass, and steel – adds strength and simplicity to the building. The two-story-high glass facade reflects in the adjacent pool and gazes towards the distant peaks of Mantiqueira. Due to the differing height levels of the land, the chapel appears as a single story from the perspective of the palace.