“How a Parish Center can enable community gatherings and bring people together in the future?”

Case Siivet (Wings) – Laitila Parish Center

Laitila Parish Center is going to be the heart of the village – the space for gathering. In addition to traditional parish functions, Laitila Parish Center is a place for kids, teens, elderly people, visitors, companies and cultural functions. Parish Center is a common building for different age groups and parishioners. It serves as a gathering space also in the evenings and the weekends. “Wings” is a house for people in Laitila, where to feel safe, meet and be met.

The building made of massive timber represents the history of wooden villages in Laitila and at the same time the modern Finnish timber know-how. The new building interprets the themes of Christian building tradition in a modest but playful way with its broken symmetry and Trinity. The building is vigorous, playful and approachable. A big solid roof covers the spaces with an inviting cut in the entrance. The building is contrast, the atmosphere is at the same time festive and cozy. The activities and events are visible to the city via Entrance Hall.

The building is a pavilion in the park. It is situated in the place of the old Parish Center and directed freely towards the church and important directions of arrival. Yard areas are conserved with big old trees. Parking and traffic connections are designed to be more compact leaving the park areas bigger.

The Parish park consists of different types of active areas that continue the inside activities outside. There are places for events and play and also for meditation. The garden between the Rector’s house and the Parish Center serves as an outdoor living room. Gathering spaces continue outside with a defined festive yard that can be used as an extra space for outside events such as baptism and wedding. The main goal is to create versatile gathering spaces in a park like beautiful surroundings.

The new Parish Center is based on communality. Functional three wings of the building (Education, Working and Gathering) surround the Entrance Hall, the heart of the building. All the spaces can be accessed via the Entrance Hall. Entrance Hall is multifunctional and it serves for example as a meeting point, cloakroom, pop-up space, and a living room.

The wings include active and multifunctional halls that are connected to additional entrances. The additional entrances enable different types of events happening in the building at the same time without interference. Movable furniture allows flexible use of the hall spaces.

The building breathes to the surrounding park and the spaces expand to the tall halls of the building. Functions are visible and activating. The building encourages meeting and cooperating – enables gathering and coming together.

The entry won an invited architectural competition in 11/2018.