Rio Roca Chapel

Constructed of wood, stone, glass and steel, 1,080-square-foot Rio Roca Chapel serves as both a private meditation space and event venue. Most of the wood is exposed, requiring it to serve both a structural and aesthetic purpose. Structural and exterior wood is southern yellow pine, while the warm color of clear red oak was chosen for the interior. Wood and steel elements work together to provide the structure of the building, which includes a series of custom-designed wood and steel flitch systems with Douglas-fir tongue and groove decking above. The flitch columns are each made from four standard pine 2x4s bolted to the sides of a steel plate and the flitch beams are made of standard pine 2x8s, also bolted to a plate. Threaded and bolted connections allowed pieces to be built in a shop and then brought to the site for assembly. Threaded connections allowed for minor adjustment and tensioning, and the connectors were then held in place with set screws.