The model is a minute reproduction of the Brion Vega cemetery chapel (images), designed as part of the rest of the cemetery between 1969 and 1978 by the architect Carlo Scarpa (1906 - 1978). It's not a model of the entire cemetery. The cemetery was made for the Brion Vega couple, the proprietors of the famous succesful designer electronics company Brionvega. It is located in Italy near Treviso.

Chapel exterior with pond

As you can see by the dates, the architect passed away when the cemetery was completed. He was subsequently laid to rest there as well, before the actual Brion Vega couple were, and suspended vertically in one of the walls.

Carlo Scarpa and the Design
Carlo Scarpa is not your every day architect. He was a craftsman, famous for his glass vases and intricate architectural detail. The cemetery is no exception. Everything down to the hinges of the doors were designed by him and true pieces of art. Doors sink away into lily ponds, waterways sneak around the building to water different areas depending on the water level of the season, and every bit of it was carefully thought out, designed and crafted. He did this using common materials, mostly concrete and wood. The value is in the design and craftmanship, not in the material.

The chapel is one of Scarpa's masterpieces, together with the Castelvecchio. I hope I've done right to this work of art in the model, but I'm sure I've not been as minute as Scarpa was. The model itself will tell the story, but remember to check the reference images as to what it actually was.

References
Besides flicker, wikipedia and other commons sources, see the image library at the Cisapalladio institute for a complete historical archive of photographs, drawings and other documents regarding Carlo Scarpa and his building. (look for "Complesso monumentale Brion" )

I'd like to present you with a challenge that involves everything but modeling... A complete model of the chapel and its surroundings is provided and you can extend its assets if you feel it's necessary, surface and texture it, set up the scene, light it and render it.

Chapel interior with altar

The idea for the challenge came because I have a model lying around that was used for making 3D prints. The investigation into the chapel was used as inspiration for the design of our Centrum chapel in toronto. It took a long time to make and I would love to see it come to life in the hands of all of you. The model is available for download for a month. The challenge will end on April 1st 2010.

3D print of the chapel

Chapel interior with circular doorway

Rules
There really are very little rules. Use LightWave to set up the scene. Model extra assets in LightWave. Use any renderer you please, and be creative within your own domain as much as you can. I'm not particularly looking for realism or something true to Scarpa's memory, but I do feel you need to be aware of how important this building was to many people, especially the architect as his last masterpiece of subtlety, and take this into account.

All honourable mentions will be placed on this page after the challenge has enden.

Good luck to all of you, I'm really excited to see the results.

Tom Bosschaert