Detail of the project ed. 2024

fuego-nue­­vo-chapel / Mexico

Design­er	RIGOB­ER­TO ALMAGUER
Loca­tion	El Uro, Mon­ter­rey, Mexico
Nation	Mex­i­co
Design Team	Rigob­er­to Alma­guer, Ana Paula Tre­viño, Wendy Lopez, Lau­ra Gómez, Eduar­do Guerrero
Year	2021
Pho­to credits	WRK­SHP, JORGE TABOADA

Pho­to external

Project descrip­tion

The Fuego Nue­vo Chapel is con­ceived as a space where nat­ur­al light plays an essen­tial role in the archi­tec­ture. The struc­ture inte­grates columns, walls, beams, and slabs as bare, heavy ele­ments, cre­at­ing a rhyth­mic pat­tern of solids and voids that high­light nat­ur­al light as a pro­tag­o­nist. Com­mis­sioned to address spe­cif­ic needs of the con­gre­ga­tion, the project was well received by the com­mu­ni­ty. The church’s resources, large­ly from dona­tions, guid­ed the use of low-main­te­­nance mate­ri­als that age gracefully.

Locat­ed on a 3,200 m² irreg­u­lar lot, the north­ern part of the site con­nects with the eccle­si­as­ti­cal house, while the south­ern part slopes slight­ly. The largest frontage faces an avenue link­ing var­i­ous hous­ing devel­op­ments. The project com­pris­es 1,265 m² across three lev­els: a semi-base­­ment, ground floor, and mez­za­nine. The semi-base­­ment hous­es a mul­ti­pur­pose room, ser­vice areas, ver­ti­cal cir­cu­la­tion, and the ossuary—a space designed for inti­mate moments with depart­ed loved ones, devoid of nat­ur­al light.

The ground floor serves as the main nave, accom­mo­dat­ing approx­i­mate­ly 360 parish­ioners. Accessed from the north via a ramp that tra­vers­es the facade, this lev­el con­nects to the main esplanade, where an ever­green oak, donat­ed by the com­mu­ni­ty, is plant­ed. The main entrance, framed by a com­plete­ly closed facade, is reached via a stair­case that sur­rounds the oak and inte­grates with the pro­ject­ing vol­ume from the basement.

The exte­ri­or over­hang forms a sub­tle cross on the facade, extend­ing to the mez­za­nine where the choir is locat­ed. Beyond the mez­za­nine, a dou­ble-height space dom­i­nat­ed by chiaroscuro leads to the pres­bytery and altar, fea­tur­ing black Mon­ter­rey mar­ble blocks as the altar table and ambo. The altar­piece and fur­ni­ture, designed in col­lab­o­ra­tion with Alfre­do Zer­tuche, incor­po­rate black Mon­ter­rey mar­ble and wal­nut wood. The mate­r­i­al palette—concrete, glass, nat­ur­al wood, Puebla traver­tine mar­ble, and black Mon­ter­rey marble—reflects Nue­vo León’s indus­tri­al her­itage, enhanc­ing the chapel’s archi­tec­tur­al concept.

Explana­to­ry report of the project
Down­load report

Pho­to internal

Tech­ni­cal drawings

BACK TO PROJECTS PAGE