Espen Surnevik's replacement for a 19th-century church lost to a fire in the Norwegian village of Våler has pyramidal timber roofs that funnel daylight into its worship spaces.
The main challenge in the project was to give the local community a meaningful church back. As a paradox, the tragic loss of the old church gave birth to a new beginning. The theme of the new church thereby became resurrection. Together with the artist, Espen Dietrichson, architects worked with different design elements to manifest the theme through the project. The most important element is the work with daylight coming into the church from different daylight openings. This symbolizes hope, and that light defies darkness, after the tragic loss of the old church.
