Stavnsholt Church

Facts

Light creates openness

By Rasmus Vestergaard , Mag.art. og cand.phil i kunsthistorie (12 stories)

Farum is the location of Stavnsholt Church, which was designed by the architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen and built in 1979-81. Besides the church building itself, the church complex includes a parish hall with offices, confirmation suites and a large meeting room. From outside, the complex has a complicated layout of closed cubic shapes made of yellow brickwork. But whereas the complex outwardly shuts itself off from its environs, the interior opens upwards. The closed sculptural effect of the exterior is contrasted by the interior of the complex where the quadratic church space is daylighted from above by light that streams between the external walls and the cast cassette ceiling. In this light-flooded space, the geometrical, cubic shapes are employed in a ratio that emphasises the church interior as a place for spiritual insight and immersion. The welcoming effect of the church also characterises the parish hall, where the various functions and interiors are exquisitely linked by a joint atrium courtyard. Stavnsholt Church demonstrates von Spreckelsen's skill in designing a functional and relevant church complex, but also exemplifies the architect's dedication to balancing geometry, format and daylighting.

Public place