This essay is an in-depth analysis of Le Corbusier’s Notre-Dame-du-Haut and how its modern architectural language refers back to churches and cathedrals of the past. What is the historical context behind its location; the Bourlémont hill in eastern France, near the town of Ronchamp? What is it about the chapel that makes it an example of a modern building and what innovations had been made to modernize churches prior to its construction?

With the help of studying the works and theories of specific architects from the early 20th-century, this essay will make a formal analysis of a selection of the chapel’s main architectural components: the walls, the roof, the interior, as well as the building’s interaction with light. Parallels will then be drawn between each of the components and their respective counterparts from an older style of architecture. The past styles are not derived from any specific time period, instead, this essay’s goal is to form connections between Le Corbusier’s modern chapel from the 1950s, to possible characteristics from the past. The architectural epochs from the Romanesque to the Baroque are commonly referred to as the traditional styles of architecture for churches. This essay will be using “traditional” as an umbrella term to refer to any architectural feature from an older style. The parallels drawn between the Notre-Dame-du-Haut and the traditional architectural features can be either physical similarities in the buildings’ proportions or it can be similarities in the effects the architecture achieves through different means.

This essay will base its arguments on photographs of the Notre-Dame-du-Haut and the ideas concerning what makes a building religious that circled Europe during the early 20th-century as societies in Europe underwent substantial changes.

The results of this study show that much of the Notre-Dame-du-Haut’s religious atmosphere does partly rely on the visitor’s own experience with churches and other religious buildings. Those who are familiar with the religious tones of traditional churches, may get the same feelings from the Notre-Dame-du-Haut in regard to the structural hierarchy of its walls and roof, the unique presence of light inside the chapel and the quiet, yet still grand nature of the main hall. The Notre-Dame-du-Haut makes the visitor reconsider the expectations and assessments they may concerning a building’s function and its architectural form.