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Poetry, after all, is the feast which life offers those who know how to receive with their eyes and hearts, and understand.*
Le Corbusier once said: good architecture, "walks" and "moves." He was right; The Chapel of Ronchamp goes a step further; "sings" & "dances"
I arrived at the grounds of the Chapel early in the morning. There were only few visitors timidly circling around the building, as if any harsh movement of their bodies will damage the sacredness of the place. I was reckless, filled with angst; when it comes to religious maters, feeling of devotion is rather bleak to me, on the other hand, I felt reverence for the place and its architecture. Quickly I circled around the building few times, I needed to see it all at once. From the distance, I heard the sound of hymns, they must be coming from inside, I headed to the Chapel's entrance, there I recognized the sound of Hallelujah. I cautiously stepped in, the place was empty, except for a young couple sitting on the pews, about the middle of the Chapel. I quietly walked around to find out the source of the sound, there were nobody else except the three of us, but the sound was echoing around with strange up and down pitches, then the sound stopped. Now there was total silence, a big void that lasted few moments, there was a mysterious fusion of colors coming through the painted glass windows. Blue, yellow, green and red lights reflecting on the furniture and walls. A moment later the guy sitting next to the woman got up and walked towards the corner where the bell tower is located; he positioned himself facing the wall, only few inches away from the surface, I turned around to see his partner, she was gone. I was curious, I walked around to see her, I found her standing in front of another wall, as her partner closely facing the wall. A second later the hallelujah sound was back. I got closer to the woman, only few feet away standing next to her I noticed movements of her lips, she wasn't singing; she was whispering to the wall, then she stopped, this time the sound was emanating from the other side, traveling through the curved walls of the chapel and spreading into the air. Then I realized it wasn't just only the unusual form and appearance of the Chapel of Ronchamp what made the building one of the most recognized symbols of Modern Architecture, but also Le Corbusier's unyielding genius to understand what does it take to make great Architecture. Yes! this was the architecture which the idea of pilgrimage was worth to dream for.
Le Corbusier dijo una vez: la buena arquitectura camina y se mueve. Tenia razon, y la Iglesia de Ronchamp va mas alla: canta y baila.
Llegue a la capilla temprano en la manana. Habian algunos timidos visitantes dando vueltas alrededor del edicio, como con miedo a danar lo sagrado del lugar.Yo estaba impaciente, lleno de angustia: cuando de cosas religiosas se trata, mis sentimientos de devocion son muy debiles pero de cierta manera, sentia gran reverencia por el lugar.Di varias vueltas al edificio rapidamente, queria verlo todo. A la distancia, el sonido de himnos saliendo del edificio me atrajeron. Adentro de la capilla, reconoci el Alleluya. El lugar estaba desierto, solo una joven pareja, sentada en el medio de la capilla. Camine alrededor tratando de entender de donde venia el sonido.De pronto se hizo silencio, un espacio que duro varios minutos. Luces rojas, amarillas, azules y verdes provevientes de las ventanas se reflejaban en las paredes. Un momento despues, el joven se levanto y se coloco frente a una pared, la cara a escasas pulgadas de la superficie. Me di vuelta buscando a su pareja, no estaba.Tuve curiosidad, camine buscandola hasta que la encontre, en otra pared, igual que su companero, con la cara muy cerca de la pared. Me puse al lado y note que movia los labios y otra vez el sonido de los alleluias, pero ella no cantaba, solo muy despacito le susurraba a la pared, cuando se detuvo, el sonido llegaba de la otra pared, viajando por las curvas paredes de la capilla.
Me di cuenta entonces que no solo la forma inusual del edificio hace de Ronchamp uno de los clasicos de la arquitectura moderna, sino el genio de Le Corbusier para comprender que es lo que se necesita para crear una Gran Arquitectura.
Si, esta arquitectura hace la idea de una peregrinacion un sueno que vale la pena.
*Le Corbusier, "Films in the Classicist Tradition, "brochure, Fall 1946. Reprinted in Veve A Clark, Milicent Hodson, and Catrina Neiman, The Legend of Maya Deren: A documentary Biography and collected works, Vol.1, Part 2 Chambers, 1942-1947(New York: Anthology Film Archives/Film Culture 1988), p.407
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