Perhaps unsurprisingly, a long history of dissent and convention-breaking surrounds Sweden’s “free churches,” known as frikyrkor, which emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries when there was a state religion. Amid the spire-dotted skyline of Gothenburg, one such congregation—the Pentecostal Smyrnakyrkan—slowly but surely outgrew its steepleless downtown refuge south of King’s Park. With the parish’s centennial on the horizon and the city looking to spur development in its former docklands, the two sponsored an architectural competition for a new, bigger spiritual home.
Four firms made the shortlist: the Stockholm-based studio Elding Oscarson, the firm of Danish starchitect Bjarke Ingels, Swedish powerhouse Wingårdhs, and a team comprising Gothenburg-based Thorbjörnsson+Edgren and the Paris office of Kengo Kuma, whose scheme of colliding A-frames—some split at their ridge to introduce daylight—was as daring as it was impractical, given financial constraints. “The budget made the project very challenging,” says architect Johan Oscarson. “We really wanted to address this with our proposal—to find a way to make a robust but basic concept.” In the end, simplicity won over celebrity or divine spectacle.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.
