Fire. In 2009, fire destroyed the church of Våler, Norway. In the response to the need for a new place of worship, the Våler Parish Council held an open competition for architects to present schemes for a replacement which would locate next to the burned remains of the former. Studio DMTW brought forward a design that is both future looking as well as referent and reverent to traditions.
Courtesy of Studio DMTW
The circle, square, and cross are sacred geometries for the church and have been guiding principles for church design for over a millennium. The architects write,
The circle symbolizes unity, the absolute, the perfect and the divine order. It is a symbol of heaven and the All-One. Each point has an equal distance from the centre. For humans, the circle acts as something warm and comforting. We look forward to our circle of family and community. We have a circle of friends. The circle emphasized an atmosphere of “togetherness”.
The circle provides ordering for the church secondary spaces, broken into three: Public, private (rooms for pastor and acolytes), and service (storage+utilities). The thirds are equal which does say a nice thing about the church doctrine- that all those, even those who serve are equal.
The main church space sits inscribed withing the circular plan. DMTW states,
Courtesy of Studio DMTW
The cross is to be found in the roof plan. It is the sole link to the outside within the worship space and provides clean, natural light to flow into the space from above. Oh! Almost like a god is providing the lighting! The roof tilts to eastward in order to bring the cross cleanly over the alter. ‘The vertical beam of the cross symbolizes the relationship between God and man. The horizontal beam of the cross links the relationship between people’.
And bell tower. Gotta have a bell tower. This is removed from the immediate vicinity of the church building in order to maintain the clarity of the structure. So the main entrance to the property is demarcated by the bell tower. An impressive entrance.
