![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-1.jpg)
Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi and Luonti
Finnish architects Anssi Lassila and Teemu Hirvilammi of Lassila Hirvilammi with Jani Jansson of Luonti have completed this slate-clad church with a separate steeple in Jyväskylä, Finland.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-12.jpg)
Called Kuokkala Church, the project has a laminated wood structure and the interior is finished with spruce, ash and lime wood.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-5.jpg)
The church is adjacent to a market square and has a wide granite stairway to lead visitors into the main entrance.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-6.jpg)
The main floor consists of a youth centre, offices and the main hall overlooked by a gallery housing the organ and musical director’s office.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-7.jpg)
Here's some more from the architects:
Kuokkala Church
The wish of the Parish of Jyväskylä was to build “a church that looks like a church”.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-8.jpg)
Our proposal was a simple, sculptural form within which all of the church’s different functions could be contained.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-9.jpg)
The design is “of our time”, yet permeated with nods to and re-interpretations of church-building tradition.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-10.jpg)
The east-west oriented building stands centrally on Kuokkala Square, the focal point of Jyväskylä’s Kuokkala district.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-11.jpg)
The church is roofed and clad in overlapping slate tiles, and wooden and copper details around the entrances supplement the overall visual aspect.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-3.jpg)
The church is flanked by a granite stairway and walls which, together with the bell tower on the square, usher visitors towards the main entrance.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-2.jpg)
The church’s functions are located across three storeys, with the church offices opening directly onto the market square.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-13.jpg)
On the main floor, the church hall and parish meeting hall can be combined to create a shared space onto which the floor’s children’s and youth facilities also adjoin.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-14.jpg)
A gallery houses the organ and cantors' office.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-15-1.jpg)
The church is predominantly wooden.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-4.jpg)
The church ceiling is a combined glulam frame and wooden gridshell construction, which visually integrates the separate hall spaces.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-15.jpg)
The gridshell was assembled and laminated together in-situ in three sections.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-16.jpg)
Locally sourced spruce has been used throughout the church, from its bearing structures to its interior surfaces and fixtures.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-17.jpg)
The church hall furnishings are in ashwood and the altar furniture is limewood, a species used historically for the carving of wooden icons.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-20.jpg)
The church is adjacent to the market square and has a wide granite stairway to lead visitors into the main entrance.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-19.jpg)
The three-storey building has two meeting halls, a youth centre and offices on the ground floor, which are overlooked by a gallery housing the organ and musical director’s office.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-21.jpg)
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-25.gif)
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The church is supported on a Glulam frame finished with a spruce lattice, and has lime wood altar furniture and ash wood furnishings.
![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-26.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-27.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-28.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-29.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-30.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-31.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-32.gif)
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![Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Kuokkala Church by Lassila Hirvilammi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/08/dzn_Kuokkala-Church-by-Lassila-Hirvilammi-33.gif)
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The church design is based on the winning entry of a 2006 invitational architectural competition.
Design period: 2006–2010
Construction: 2008–2010
Floor area: 1311 m2, 7460 m3
See also:
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