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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi and Luonti

Finnish architects Anssi Lassila and Teemu Hirvilammi of Lassila Hirvilammi with Jani Jansson of Luonti have completed this slate-clad church with a separate steeple in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

Called Kuokkala Church, the project has a laminated wood structure and the interior is finished with spruce, ash and lime wood.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church is adjacent to a market square and has a wide granite stairway to lead visitors into the main entrance.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The main floor consists of a youth centre, offices and the main hall overlooked by a gallery housing the organ and musical director’s office.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

Here's some more from the architects:


Kuokkala Church

The wish of the Parish of Jyväskylä was to build “a church that looks like a church”.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

Our proposal was a simple, sculptural form within which all of the church’s different functions could be contained.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The design is “of our time”, yet permeated with nods to and re-interpretations of church-building tradition.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The east-west oriented building stands centrally on Kuokkala Square, the focal point of Jyväskylä’s Kuokkala district.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church is roofed and clad in overlapping slate tiles, and wooden and copper details around the entrances supplement the overall visual aspect.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church is flanked by a granite stairway and walls which, together with the bell tower on the square, usher visitors towards the main entrance.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church’s functions are located across three storeys, with the church offices opening directly onto the market square.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

On the main floor, the church hall and parish meeting hall can be combined to create a shared space onto which the floor’s children’s and youth facilities also adjoin.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

A gallery houses the organ and cantors' office.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church is predominantly wooden.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church ceiling is a combined glulam frame and wooden gridshell construction, which visually integrates the separate hall spaces.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The gridshell was assembled and laminated together in-situ in three sections.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

Locally sourced spruce has been used throughout the church, from its bearing structures to its interior surfaces and fixtures.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church hall furnishings are in ashwood and the altar furniture is limewood, a species used historically for the carving of wooden icons.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The church is adjacent to the market square and has a wide granite stairway to lead visitors into the main entrance.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

The three-storey building has two meeting halls, a youth centre and offices on the ground floor, which are overlooked by a gallery housing the organ and musical director’s office.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi
Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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The church is supported on a Glulam frame finished with a spruce lattice, and has lime wood altar furniture and ash wood furnishings.

Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi

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The church design is based on the winning entry of a 2006 invitational architectural competition.
Design period: 2006–2010
Construction: 2008–2010
Floor area: 1311 m2, 7460 m3


See also:

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