CEBRA: new church of valer, norway
‘new church of valer’ by CEBRA, valer, norwayimage © CEBRAall images courtesy of CEBRA
the old church of valer, a small town in the southeast of norway, burned down in 2009 and has left a void in a cultural-historical site. copenhagen-based firm CEBRA has created a proposal for its replacement derived from obvious religious symbolism as a leaning cross that rises from the ground. light and wood become the two most important building materials, merging a long standing norwegian construction history with the quality of sacred spaces required of a place of worship. the particular shape of the cross also serves the building’s program as appropriately as it does metaphorically – an inhabitable ‘stairway to heaven’. the new wooden structure is built on the opposite side of a central walkway from the locationof the original chapel, where only the foundation remains in ruins. it creates a threshold between the cemetery and birch grove, and re-utilizes theoriginal footprint as a reflecting pool, reactivating and respecting its history.
the interior and exterior use natural light as the other fundamental building block of space. a combination of orientation, camera oscura, prisms, and peg mirrors capture and refract light to properly illuminate liturgical proceedings and ceremonies. the light that falls upon the wooden interiorbreathes life into the program and gives depths to the halls, it is the soul to the structure’s body.
‘light and wood, heaven and earth, the vertical and the horizontal create in interaction with the overall design of the proposal, the framework for ecclesiastic ceremonies, and events for the community in and around the new church in våler.’ – CEBRA
original church turned into a reflecting poolimage © CEBRA
entryimage © CEBRA
image © CEBRA
main hallimage © CEBRA
view from the balconyimage © CEBRA
naveimage © CEBRA
reinterpreted apseimage © CEBRA
project info:
name: ny våler kirke commission: privatetype: competition entry client: vaaler parish councillocation: hovedveien, våler, no year: 2011 – closedpurpose: churchsurface area: 11.840 sq. ft.
CEBRA architecture (12 articles)
CEBRA reopens denmark's experimentarium science center with giant copper stairway
#architecture
CEBRA's skamlingsbanken visitor center is embedded into the danish landscape
#architecture
K-12 green school by CEBRA in collab. with SLA & diamond developers
#architecture
architecture news
garciagerman arquitectos opens 'desert city' cactus center on the outskirts of madrid
#architecture
conceived as a 'billboard building', the elevated longitudinal structure runs parallel to the road and is organized around a cloister-like garden.
conceived as a 'billboard building', the elevated longitudinal structure runs parallel to the road and is organized around a cloister-like garden.
shigeru ban is designing 20,000 new homes for refugees in kenya
#architecture
'the key thing will be to construct shelter where no or little technical supervision is required, and use materials that are locally available and eco-friendly,' »
'the key thing will be to construct shelter where no or little technical supervision is required, and use materials that are locally available and eco-friendly,' explains the architect.
Y pavilion in finland reveals the possibilities of wood in modern construction
#architecture
measuring almost 11-meters in length, the funnel-shaped pavilion raises questions on time, knowledge and skills.
measuring almost 11-meters in length, the funnel-shaped pavilion raises questions on time, knowledge and skills.
GKA's iron ring sculpture represents the intimate relationship between the medieval monarchies
#architecture
the sculpture’s precarious balanced form, half buried beneath the ground, half projecting into the air, demonstrates the unstable nature of the crown.
the sculpture’s precarious balanced form, half buried beneath the ground, half projecting into the air, demonstrates the unstable nature of the crown.
the initial reaction is “contrived”, but as one follows along through the renderings, there is a remarkable play of complexity against simplicity with an overal clarity and directness
looking forward to see the completed structure
I can hear justice – planosphere playing in the background. lol