valer-church / sivilarkitekt espen surnevik as
| Designer | Espen Surnevik | |
| Location | Våler — Hedmark — Norway | |
| Design Team |
sivilarkitekt espen surnevik as Project-architect Espen Surnevik MNAL (1973) Colaborating artist for the; resurrection-frieze, artist Espen Dietrichson (1976) |
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| Year | 2015 | |
| Photo credits |
Rasmus Norlander |
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Project description
After a fire Våler church is bringing back the lost centerpoint for belief to the people of Våler. The church is made of the forests which surrounds it, and from the materials which has fed the local community for generations.
The church is created as a response to the local landscapes and its history. At the same time its inspired by the long international tradition of church-architecture in a forward pointing expression. Two towers gestalts the inner ceremonial spaces. The low roofs define the supporting functions.
A flexible plan allows the church to be used in many ways, also for cultural events. As an analogy to the old cross-church, the plan is based on a quadrat with four cantilevered oriels pointing north, south, east and west. The procession-axis stretches diagonal trough the plan, and connects the ceremonial rooms in one order as a contrasts to the orthogonal building.
The project investigates how the new churches can be a suitable church-cultural-arena but in a monumental way. The interiors are designed as warm and including spaces for the cold winters. In the 24m high churchroom, the “resurrection-frieze” reflects nature and the seasons on the outside. The frieze is symbolizing the Halo of Christ by its shape and light. At the same time the pointed ends remind us about the crown of thorns.
Windows on top of both towers, creates a relation between heaven and the ceremonial rooms. A black cross projects a shadow on the walls of the churchinterior as the sun passes over the sky, and manifests that the symbolic cross is immovable. The cross is constructive, and removel will destruct the dome.
The baptismal font, from 1160, was rescued from the fire. It now crowns the church’s interior and bring Vålers traditions on to every newborn child in the community.
Våler church is a history of a people which lost their most beloved building, but managed to turn darkness into light by resurrecting their church. Light is its main theme, and symbolizes optimism and hope.
Illustrative project report
Download report
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Technical drawings
