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Architects: Longva arkitekter
- Area: 670 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Ivan Brodey
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Manufacturers: Modulvegger, Mørtelverket Forsand, Nordan
Text description provided by the architects. The new parish center is situated close to Tanum church and cemetery. Tanum church is from the Middle Ages and is of significant cultural importance. The cemetery lies beautifully in the natural landscape. Close to the plot is an historic walkway. The relationship between the existing church and the landscape has been an important parameter for the new architecture. In the design of the parish centre, the new building volume is subordinate to the old church. The new building has a restrained appearance, but at the same time, it clearly reads as a public building with a sacred character. The new parish centre is located to maintain the view of Tanum church from the existing historic walkway from the west. Landscape interventions are minimized and most of existing trees have been preserved. The new volume is built into the hill on the east side.
The new parish center contains public functions such as an auditorium and meeting room, as well as offices for employees. All functions, except technical rooms, are on one level. The building has a simple wooden construction, built in prefabricated wall and roof elements. The façade is made of light brown bricks that pick up colors from the surrounding vegetation. Exterior staircases and exterior retaining walls are made in the same brick as the façades, so that the building almost seems as it grows out of the landscape. The masonry expression of the parish center also provides a relationship to the existing brick church, but the character is different such that the church appears to be the most important building. Windows and fittings are made of naturally anodized aluminum and have references to the church roofs and flashings that have galvanized surfaces. The parish center has a low-pitched gable roof, covered with matte, gray roofing felt. The roof ridge is centered above the entrance. The signage above the entrance is made of matte lacquered steel, punched out and mounted with facade spacers.
The floorplan is split between a public zone with vestibule, auditorium, meeting room, wardrobe / WC, and a pantry kitchen, and a private zone with offices and break room for employees. The auditorium can be divided into two. The ceiling has two arches of different radii. At each corner, large windows frame views of the landscape and the historic church. The public rooms have an interior cladding of light pine veneer on the walls and pine wood slats in the ceiling. The flooring is an industrial oak parquet.
In front of the main entrance, granite slates that were on the plot have been reused. Other walkways and outdoor areas are covered with gravel of the same type used in the surrounding area.
