MYLLYKOSKI PARISH CENTER

Location: Kouvola, Finland

Year: 2016 – 2020

Status: Competition. 1st prize. Built.

Program: Parish center as an extension to a historical church

Client: Kouvola Parish

Area: 650 m2

The Myllykoski Parish center is an extension to an existing age-old church, originally designed in 1936, by W. G. Palmqvist. The extension houses the communal hall, a club house for children and spaces for congregation of employees and parishioners. The new spaces are directly attached to the existing church and in this manner serve as a fluid extension for the functions of the original building. A series of three connected pitched roof volumes, recede in scale giving space and reverence to the church while also creating a welcoming and easily approachable new public building for the community.

The language of the facades of the extension carry forward the lively brickwork and white rendering of the existing church's facades. The all white interior of the extension adds airiness and light to the new spaces and reinforces the spatial sequence of the assembly.

The design of the building is based on the winning entry of an open architecture competition held in 2016. The team of OPUS partners received 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize in the competition with three distinct proposals.