client: Valer church
parish, competition
design: Harmen van de Wal,
with Raimonda Cybaite, Jiri Serek, Christine Sundberg
program: church
date: november 2011
location: Valer, Norway
An Open Ring in the Woods
In commissioning the
competition, the church of Våler chose for a seldomly witnessed step
in church history, one that always comes with interesting results.
Tapping on a source of collective creativity in modern architecture
offers the chance to bring the development of church architecture to
a new level. A building combining monumentality to accessibility,
openness to spirituality, is awesome, while being friendly. In short:
a church fitting in this time.
The church building is
designed for two important, but seemingly incompatable demands: the
open character of the gathering space (Domus Ecclesiae), involving
the church in the community, and the closed character of the
spiritual, secluded space (Domus Dei), promising peace of mind. It is
for that reason that the church will be placed as an open ring in a
newly designed park. The ring, enclosing a patio, will be lifted on
one side, giving people the opportunity to come in, without crossing
a threshold. One is just there.
Within the surroundings of
the ring several spaces are collected unther a partly open roof.
Outside, reachable through the ring shaped passageway wordly
functions are positioned, such as the toilets, storage and technical
spaces, but also the rooms for pastor and eldermen. That way their
offices are also reachable from outside. The ruins of the old church
will be cladded with granite and solar collectors. The old church
warms the new that way.
(open ring is derived from
R. Schwarz)