Chapel Lomas de Cuernavaca, by Félix Candela

The dramatic 1958 chapel above the town of Cuernavaca, Mexico, by architect Félix Candela.

The doubly-curved thin concrete roof shell is formed entirely out straight-line timber members—one of the unique means by which “hypar” roofs distinguish themselves both for their athletic beauty and for their relative ease of construction.

It forms a unique space, in which the view is projected past the altar to the township below in which the worshippers themselves live, encompassing therefore within their field of worship their own secular existence.

More about the project here.

‘Hypar Pavilion’ at NY’s Lincoln Center, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architects

A “hypar” is a doubly-curved “saddle” surface that can be built entirely from straight lines, of which  Spanish-Mexican architect Felix Candela was the undoubted master.

This new hypar pavilion by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architects perches in the centre of the arts capital of New York using the curvature to bring the roof down to the ground so that folk can get up on the grassy roof and hang out.

Brilliant!

More photos here.

Hypar umbrella, by Felix Candela

The formwork, falsework and idea of Felix Candela's thin concrete-shelled hypar 'umbrellas' has always fascinated me with their possibilities . . . so simple,  so elegant, so suggestive.  I have several models along these lines around the house just waiting for the right opportunity . . .

                     

City of Arts & Oceanographic Sciences - Santiago Calatrava

A conscious nod to architect Felix Candela, this 2005 project is set to be "the newest jewel in Valencia's crown." Not only that, it's a superbly expressive use of thin shell concrete hypars.

RELATED: Architecture

Restaurant at Xochimilco - Felix Candela, 1958

Pic from 'Candela: Shell Builder,' by Colin Faber

The intersecting hyperparabaloids of Felix Candela's restaurant at Xochimilco, Mexico City. You can see from the diagram above how the structure is formed from the 'saddle' shape of the 'hypars.'

The 'hypar' structure means the seemingly complex curves can all be constructed using straight lines, as the diagram above also helps to demonstrate.

 Candela's ingenuity here means the visible 'free edges' of the concrete shell are as thin as just forty millimetres.

RELATED: Architecture

Felix Candela, 'Iglesia de la Virgen de la Medalla Milagrosa'

Interior, Iglesia de la Virgen de la Medalla Milagrosa, Felix Candela, 1954-55