The town of Kempele saw a long-standing wish fulfilled with the completion of the Church of the Holy Trinity. The parish had begun to expand in the late 1960s, rapidly outgrowing its old wooden church from 1691, which seats only 170 people.

In 1988, the parish arranged an invited competition for a new church to be built on the same plot as the old wooden one. The plans were drawn up on the basis of Jorma Teppo’s winning entry, entitled ‘Kuori’ (‘shell’ and ‘chancel’) describing the main features of the design: its vault-like ‘shell’ structure, and the emphasis given to the chancel and altar, both in the interiors and in the overall volume. The forms are intended to evoke the mood of old vaulted churches.With a hall seating 400, the layout is reduced to its bare essentials. Coat racks, toilets and a small function hall are found in the entrance area, which can be linked to the main hall. The vestry, which has its own entrance, provides access to the main hall, entrance area and function hall. A canopied belfry serves as the churchyard gate. The storage facilities and mortuary were built for a ‘maintenance yard’ together with staffrooms for office personnel and gardeners. The project also provided the opportunity to extend the cemetery and build a new parking area.

The new church lies on a hilltop, the cemetery sheltered between it and the old church. The old belfry is given focal emphasis by the arched forms of the new church. The canopied entrance to the new church thus also provides access to the old church.

The frame, exteriors and belfry are reinforced concrete in situ. The elevations are fired clay bricks and brick blocks of various sizes. The ceilings are wood, the floors dry-pressed tiles, except those of the altar and chancel, which are polished red oak. The interior walls are rendered in minerals those around the altar given a special patina.

Pekka Jauhiainen designed the stained glass, the altarpiece, the five upper windows in the main hall and that in the entrance hall. The paraments were designed and hand-made by Ritva Kärnä, including the altar cloths, the chasubles, the stoles, chalice mats and antependiums for the pulpit (four sermons: white, green, violet and red). Adorning the entrance hall is a wooden sculpture by Paavo Tolonen, “Towards the Light”.

Kempele Holy Trinity Church was designed by architects Jorma Teppo, Kari Sipilä and Henry Metsi.

Source: Finnish Architectural Review 1/1995