Vivere et Mori Chapel

school: University of Waterloo

type: undergraduate project // chapel

location: cambridge, ontario, canada

Vivere et Mori is a proposal for an interfaith chapel in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. The chapel provides an open environment for people of all faiths and serves as a neutral zone that caters to no specific religion. Appropriately, the chapel is named Vivere et Mori, Latin for “to live and to die” as birth and death are central to nearly all religions. Programatically, the chapel contains two worship spaces, one for the celebration of life and joy, and the other for memorial and remembrance. The design of the chapel is inspired by ancient megaliths and their mysterious ties to early religion. 

Megaliths

Megaliths are ancient phenomena veiled in mystery, and historically were often associated with giants, gods, and pagan tradition. Today, the oldest megaliths have been dated to the beginning of the Neolithic age and are believed to be some of the earliest examples of religious architecture. Programatically, they may have served as tombs, places of ritual, or spaces of worship. Even more extraordinary is their widespread distribution around the world, from Europe to Northern Africa, and from Israel to Korea.