KAMPPI
KAMPPI CHAPEL OF SILENCE
Helsinki, Finland
The soft, indirect light touching down on the curved surface. Warm alder planks creating a comforting wooden womb, place of silence and serenity. Safety. While the busy life is floating around.
Kamppi Chapel is a place, where you can stop by. Sit. Read. Pray. The only thing prohibited is violating silence. There are no holy ceremonies and there is no specific religion as the chapel is ecumenical. Welcoming visitors irrespective their faith or origin. This little space is simply and singularly devoted to providing some peace and quiet. That's why this swirling temple of calmness is so rare. It's whispering "slow down and listen to the silence".
Notes to pictures, marked from top:
1/ The facades are made of sawn-to-order horizontal finger jointed spruce wood planks, which are treated with pigmented transparent nanotech wax. The constructive frame consists of cnc-cut gluelam elements.
2/ On the interior, the rounded curve is re-defined using oiled alder planks. Composed to highlight the timber’s natural variance.
3/ To layer up the sense of calm, the space is diffusely lit from above through a recessed ceiling detail that is strung up using a glue-lam structural system.
4/ The interior design is kept spare with the natural warmth of the smooth wood. Walls left unadorned and the only objects in the space are the futuristic altar, a simple candelabra and rows of basic blocky pews.
5/ K2S Architects created the chapel by delicately moulding a waxed and pigment-treated exterior finish to the chapel`s vase-like form.
Address: Simonkatu 7, 00100 Helsinki, Finland; Open: Mon-Fri 7:00-20:00; Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00
Architect: Mikko Summanen, opened to public in 2012
Taidekappeli is located on the island of Hirvensalo, far outside the city. Surrounded by spruces and pines, where the wooded hills rise from the flat fields.