An ancient island battered over time by the relentless sea yet is left with the telltale signs of humanity’s persistent will to occupy. The remains of these previous civilizations are typical of their age and purpose, articulating the architecture of shelter and defense. This proposal seeks to reinvest archetypal forms with contemporary meaning that is specific to Pessegueiro Island. Leading visitors on a panoramic journey, the rotunda plan binds the endless horizon with the archeology of the island.

A place of solitude and contemplation, the chapel distances itself from the other sites both physically and materially. Where typical chapels separate the exterior from the sacred interior with heavy masonry, creating contrasts between light and dark, this proposal is pure light. Traveling a circumambulating pathway toward the entry on the western side, one senses the ability to navigate between the columns to discover an elusive interior, but whose visual access is denied. Likewise, once inside the chapel, views to the exterior are occluded, yet one is drenched with light.