Mexican architects model chapel on Virgin Mary

Robes of Our Lady of Guadalupe provide divine inspiration for architects FREE in Miami

Mexican archiutecture practice Fernando Romero EnterprisE (known as FREE), is looking to blend Mexican iconography with modern architecture in Florida. Its winning design for a chapel in Miami is modelled on the pleats in the gown of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a popular Latin American icon of the Virgin Mary, Mexico's patron saint.

Indeed, she's so popular that every year on December 12, Catholics make the pilgrimage in their thousands to Mexico City to honour her at the Basilica of Guadalupe, making it one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world.

However, some of the faithful won't have to travel so far, once this chapel is built. Of Miami's 2.5m people, 65% are of Hispanic or Latino origin, a decent-sized congregation for any place of worship.

Miami Chapel by Free

As for FREE's sartorial concept, it may seem a bit far-fetched but the architects clearly have their reasons. Within the chapel, the 27 pleats operate as individual side chapels, each complete with an effigy of one of the other 27 Latin American virgins.

The gown-like structure at ground level elegantly twists up to become a vertical spire directly above the altar. And the spire's funnel opening will be covered by a stained-glass skylight carrying an image of the Lady of Guadalupe. So natural light will be filtered onto the congregation below, making it a daringly modern vision for an age-old religion.

Perhaps the architects were inspired by their late compatriot, Felix Candela, whose Los Manantiales restaurant in Mexico City has a similar billowing aesthetic. It's also one of the many beautiful buildings featured in our great book, Concrete.

Miami Chapel plans by Free

ConcreteEdited by William Hall, with an essay by Leonard Koren

This book is a celebration of concrete: collating fascinating and beautiful images of concrete structures from the breathtaking New York Guggenheim to coldly functional aircraft hangars, Concrete will engage anyone interested in architecture and encourage them to think about the sculptural qualities of buildings. Familiar icons by Le Corbusier and Tadao Ando are featured alongside vernacular structures such as petrol stations, vast power plants and London Zoo’s famous penguin pool. Specifications:

Format: Hardback
Size: 290 × 250 mm (11 3/8 × 9 7/8 in)
Pages: 240 pp
Illustrations: 175 illustrations
ISBN: 9780714863542

William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Formerly a Design Director at Phaidon Press, Hall now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, Henry Moore Institute and Tate.

Leonard Koren has written and designed a number of books including Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. In 1976, two years after studying architecture at UCLA, he founded WET, one of the premier avant-garde publications of the 1970s. He now consults on the subject of design, aesthetics, and communications. He lives in San Francisco.

"Concrete is a beautifully designed book. It is also a thought-provoking exploration of an important subject."—John Pawson

"What a surprising and beautiful book – a parade of amazing buildings."—Peter York

"Yes, concrete can be cold and imposing - but as the 175 structures in the book attest, it can also be colorful, playful, and delicate."—Wall Street Journal

"The eye candy here, from the graceful to the brash is enough to open the mind of any skeptic."—Atlantic Cities

"Afresh look at [...] the world's most versatile and abundant building material... Urges us to reconsider its merits and its contribution to architecture... A global tour of inspiring and intriguing structures."—Self Build & Design

"Concrete has acquired a reputation as a cheap and bland building material. This book sets the record straight, putting forward 100 years worth of elegant, exciting and at times poetic architectural masterpieces."—David Nicholls, Daily Telegraph

"Superbly illustrated... Many of the world's best architectural photographers who have caught the play of light and shade, the elemental shapes, the smooth or artfully roughened surfaces to suggest an architecture of pristine, lasting beauty."—Marcus Binney, The Times

"The sweeping survey of buildings featured in Concrete illustrates the material's chameleonlike versatility, from the Pantheon's coffered dome to Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye."—ELLE Decor

"The book is a vivid reminder of the sheer endurance, unexpected delicacy, and humor of architecture's humble hero."—Architectural Digest