Kamppi Chapel of Silence

Kamppi Chapel of Silence is located on the edge of Narinkkatori, a place where people gather in large numbers. It provides an opportunity to be calm and quiet in the midst of the hurly-burly of the urban environment.

The curving form of the Chapel allows space and views to flow through the urban landscape. The softly shaped interior encloses the visitor safely in its embrace.

The Chapel can be approached from four different directions. On the Simonkatu side, visitors find themselves in a small piazza with steps leading downwards to the Chapel entrance level. Access to the Chapel is from the Narinkkatori and Lasipalatsi directions through a glass wall which acts as a plinth.

The Chapel itself is in the wooden part of the building, while the other spaces are located in a low plinth-like element. The entrance foyer in the plinth also serves as an exhibition space and a place where visitors can meet a priest or social worker.

The Chapel is a quiet space where the busy surroundings disappear. The warmth of wood is strongly present, together with indirect lighting filtering down from above.

The interior walls of the Chapel are clad with planks of alder shaped to follow the form of the interior. The simple furniture is made of solid ash.

The horizontal exterior cladding is made of strips of spruce bent to various radiuses. The outer skin is treated with translucent wood wax which uses nanotechnology. The wooden frame of the Chapel is constructed of laminated wood formers which follow the shape of the building.