Bøler Church / Hansen-Bjørndal Arkitekter AS

Architects: Hansen-Bjørndal Arkitekter AS
Location: Oslo, Norway
Architects In Charge: Jostein Bjørndal, Ellen Soma, Helge Hansen, Erik Andreassen
Design Team: Anders Langhelle, Liv Schulze
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Nils Petter Dale, Laila Meyrick

Project Area: 3,231 sqm
Furniture Design: Lars Ernst, Hansen/Bjørndal
Art: Thomas Hestvold, Barbro Raen Thomassen

The new Bøler church is the result of an open architectural competition in 2004. The church stretches across a falling terrain, with the main functions either elevated on a plateau (church hall), on ground level (congregation hall) or dug into the ground (chapel).

A sheltering side wing of brick protects the functions from the traffic and the raised rail tracks to the east. The church patio is reached through a gateway, and opens up to the surrounding nature.The main church hall is entered through an anteroom, and the ceiling lifts towards the far wall.

The glazed areas of the sidewalls give glimpses of the nature outside and the shifting seasons.The main spaces are oriented vertically and connected by a processional axis. Administrative and support functions are located in the side wings.

There is a parish kindergarten and a youth club in the lower level.The main roof structure is steel, supported by concrete columns and concealed by a timber ceiling inside, and copper cladding on the outside.