Despite its flashy, copper facade, OOPEAA’s Suvela Chapel, located on a former parking lot in the Helsinki suburb of Espoo, sits lightly in its surrounds. The U-shaped volume fully extends to the perimeter, allowing for a peaceful inner courtyard. Occupying one arm of the U, the soaring main chapel projects onto the street-facing northeast corner. Offices reside in the connecting mid-section, while tranquil community spaces are situated in the other arm.
At its heighest, the chapel vaults to 12m
Juxtaposed against the modesty of the church’s single level, sweeping changes in height deliver architectural drama: while the office wing has a standard ceiling height of 2.8m, the chapel vaults up to 12m. The relatively restricted materials palette of copper and Finnish spruce further heightens the striking contrast between exterior and interior spaces. While the copper steals the limelight street-side, the chapel’s contemplative interiors are clad in spruce. In time, however, the copper will weather and darken, settling in comfortably to its suburban landscape.
As originally featured in the November 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*212)
Despite the dramatic copper facade, the chapel sits lightly in its suburban location
An original sketch of the exterior design
Finnish spruce is used to clad the interiors
Sweeping changes in height deliver architectural drama
In time the copper will weather and darken
In time the copper will weather and darken
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the OOPEAA website
-
Pharrell Williams’ latest Louis Vuitton show celebrates a ‘friendship for life’ with streetwear legend NigoLouis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams looked towards his long friendship with BAPE founder Nigo to create a collaborative A/W 2025 menswear collection shown in Paris this evening (21 January 2025)
-
Think small, think electric, as Hyundai attempts to revolutionise the classic Indian three-wheelerHyundai’s Micro Mobility strategy, in collaboration with Indian manufacturer TVS, has revealed two conceptual takes on small electric urban transport in a bid to cut the country’s crushing pollution issue
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: celebrating architectural projects that restore, rebalance and renewAs we welcome 2025, the Wallpaper* Architecture Awards look back, and to the future, on how our attitudes change; and celebrate how nature, wellbeing and sustainability take centre stage
-
Alvar Aalto: our ultimate guide to architecture's father of gentle modernismAlvar Aalto defined midcentury – and Finnish – architecture like no other, creating his own, distinctive brand of gentle modernism; honouring him, we compiled the ultimate guide
-
Design Awards 2025: Alvar Aalto's Finlandia Hall is a modernist gem reborn through sustainability and accessibilityHelsinki's Finlandia Hall, an Alvar Aalto landmark design, has been reborn - highlighting sustainability and accessibility in a new chapter for the modernist classic
-
A new village chapel in the Czech Republic is rich in material and visual symbolismStudio RCNKSK has completed a new chapel - the decade-long project of Our Lady of Sorrows in Nesvačilka, South Moravia
-
Exclusive first look: Katajanokan Laituri sets a new standard for timber architectureKatajanokan Laituri, a new building in the historic Kauppatori market district of Helsinki, is made from around 7,500 cubic metres of wood, cementing Finland’s position as leader in sustainable architecture, construction and urban development
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practicesIn the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
-
Nordic minimalism meets warm personality at Studio Collaboratorio’s new home in FinlandThe emerging Finnish practice Studio Collaboratorio is welcomed into the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024
-
Skateboarding in swimming pools: the case of Alvar Aalto’s Villa MaireaA family of shows at Aalto2 Museum Centre explores skateboarding in swimming pools through the case study of Alvar Aalto’s Villa Mairea in Finland
