Viikki Church

How to build a community

© Tapio Snellman
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Function: Church, Community center, Offices, Parish center
Size: 2000 m2
Status: Completed - 2005
Client: Helsinki Parish
Scope: Architecture, Art integration, Furniture design, Graphic design, Interior, Landscape

Viikki Church is an example of how to make a community building and create a heart for sustainable urban development near central Helsinki. The Church was built entirely in wood, making it one of the few modern timber churches in Finland.

Modern churches are very different from the traditional ones. They have become multifunctional community buildings, venues for significant events in life, increasing the well-being of citizen.

Our design combines old Finnish traditions and modern architecture with industrial manufacturing processes. The choice of wooden architecture minimises the building’s carbon footprint. Its exteriors are clad in aspen shingles, split with an axe to create a naturally water repellent surface without using any chemicals.  Inside the church, dense clustered structural beams are left exposed making architecture without decoration. This evokes the atmosphere of a Finnish forest. 

Read more about the interior architecture of Viikki Church here.

 

© Kimmo Räisänen
© Kimmo Räisänen
© Kimmo Räisänen
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle
© Arno de la Chapelle