New Church for Valer / OOIIO Architecture

Following the fire which destroyed the town church of Valer, a Norwegian town near Oslo, a competition for the design of a new temple was organized. OOIIO Architecture designed a building that would not only have a religious purpose, but will serve as a public square, a meeting point for the inhabitants. The project combines two distinct functions, square and temple. The large accessible roof creates multiple viewpoints to the various historical parts of Valer, revealing vistas never before experienced. Usually,churches and temples show a main façade open to a public space more or less representative in front of them. ooiio architecture with this building offers a new possibility for this old relation. The main façade is now the roof, and it can be used for all Valer inhabitants as the representative space that they are missing.

The building material is wood, chosen as part of the great tradition of regional architecture. It will be built on an elegant and quick way taking care of the carbon emissions. The interior is bright and spacious, while the exterior resembles a pile of stacked trunks, creating a discrete reference to the traditional shipbuilding industry and a more obvious one, resembling the extensive local forests.