Pallivaha Church and Parish Centre

Pallivaha Church and Parish Centre was based on the winning proposal of Pekka Pitkänen for an invited architectural competition. It was built on the forest edge in a Turku suburb north of the city centre. The building's façades were dominated by brownish-black brick. The inner ceilings and walls were partly in bare concrete and the floors were formed by a polished concrete plate.

The cube-like church hall was in the western end of the complex. The brick altar wall received natural light from a skylight facing east, invisible to the congregation. The concrete beams were covered by birch tree cassettes, which also softened the acoustics. On the east wall there was a concrete balcony, with a large window opening towards east and a low window under the balcony.

The textile altarpiece and altar cloth were by textile artist Irma Kukkasjärvi. The chairs were Artek furniture designed by Alvar Aalto. On the north side, there was a carefully designed sacristy and a small ceremonies room, repeating the materials and themes of the church hall. The church bells were placed in the upper corner of the church's south wall.

The entrance hall opened to the atrium yard, and a concrete wall framed the clothes racks. In the hall, there was a wooden sculpture by Mauno Hartman. The parish hall had a large window to the north. In the southern wing, there were club rooms, defined by concrete pillars and beams. The former janitor’s apartment at the eastern end was later used as clubrooms. The upper floor clubrooms had tall windows, with upper parts in glass tiling.

The church was left unused for some years due to problems caused by faults during construction. The parish applied to replace the building with two blocks of flats, and after a long battle to preserve the building, the court ruled in favour of demolition. The building was demolished in the winter of 2025.

Text: Mikko Laaksonen