The Chapel of the Miho Institute of Aesthetics is architect I.M. Pei’s last significant built work. Set in the mountains of Shigaraki, Japan, it serves as the spiritual and programmatic heart of a private school.

The 240-seat chapel’s striking sculptural form emerges from folding a two-dimensional fan-shaped surface into a conical volume. The lofted surface between the top and bottom curves is clad in 51 custom-warped stainless steel panels on the exterior and over 8,454 individually curved Japanese red cedar wood planks on the interior, lining a structural concrete shell. A crowning skylight and dramatic glazed facade flood the space with light, warmly illuminating the articulated wood panels.