Kärsämäki Shingle Church by Lassila Hirvilammi Architects

This church in Kärsämäki, Finland, features a modern design but with hand-crafted 18th Century building methods, namely the tarred black shingles which envelope the building. Designed by Lassila Hirvilammi Architects from 1999 to 2004, on the back of a competition organised by the University of Oulu’s Department of Architecture, the church is both simple structurally and functionally. The simple forms owe something both to vernacular wooden churches and bell towers as well as pared-down contemporary architecture. This translates into two key forms; a weather-proof wooden core on the inside and an outer layer of shingles to protect the service spaces: the vestibule, vestry, and storage rooms.