Tikkurila Church and Housing in Barbara Cappochin International Biennale

Tikkurila Church and Housing seen from the corner of the town hall

Tikkurila Church and Housing is selected by the jury of the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize as one of the 40 best international projects. It is featured on the Tables of Architecture exhibition of the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Biennale in Cavour Square in Padua, Italy.

The Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize is a biennial award that aims to raise awareness of the close link between the quality of life and the quality of architecture. The Biennial has the mission of highlighting the central role and responsibility of architecture in the process of transforming cities and landscapes, and the contribution it can – and must – make to improving quality of life.

  • For more information about the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize, see HERE.
Tikkurila Church and Housing seen from the town square

Multifunctional Complex for the Community

The Tikkurila Church and Housing is a multifunctional complex that contains a church, a café, spaces for community, offices, student housing and affordable rental apartments with shared facilities. Together the church and the housing form one unity with a diversity of functions. It is created to serve the residents of Tikkurila, one of the fastest growing and ethnically most diverse areas in the metropolitan region of Helsinki. It comprises three functions in a single volume: The southeast corner and southern extension contain the Tikkurila Bethania Housing block. The north-facing section across from Vantaa’s city hall houses the parish offices. The church on the northeast corner connects the housing and office sections.

The complex was realized as an alliance project in close collaboration between the architects, the builder, and the client. From start to finish, there were regular workshops with the future users of the building, and the final design was developed in dialogue with the community. The Tikkurila Church and Housing has been well received by residents and visitors alike.

Longevity and Social Sustainability

With its lively multicolored brick façade and strong sculptural shape, the Tikkurila Church and Housing takes on a strong presence on the town square. Entering in dialogue with the surrounding brick buildings, the church forms an identifying landmark for the neighborhood. It was designed with the goal of creating a building that lasts for 200 years. In the choice of materials, longevity plays an important role. Burnt brick is the main material used in the exterior. In the interiors of the church, concrete and wood create an interesting dynamic. They will all acquire a beautiful patina over time.

In addition to the durability of materials, also social sustainability was key. The goal was to create a multifunctional complex that provides for the needs of the community consisting of students, families, working people and elderly. The spatial program supports the transition to a more collective and interactive working style and allows for a more participatory experience for the users. It provides an easily accessible and open space for gathering, a site of lively activity both indoors and outdoors, and also offers a calm place to withdraw to from the hectic everyday.

  • For more information about the Tikkurila Church and Housing, see HERE.
Tikkurila Church Hall, interior

Tables of Architecture

The Tables of Architecture for the 2023 – 2024 edition of the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize are designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and manufactured by Laboratorio Morseletto. The tables showcase the 40 best international projects and the 10 best regional projects selected by the jury of the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize.

Providing a large structure that acts as a support to the Prize’s projects, the tables create a dramatic backdrop for exhibition of the works selected by the competition jury. They make the works visible and itinerant to the public in the historic center of Padua during the International Biennale of Architecture. They make one stop, look and listen to the different languages of architecture in the world. They express the underlying of the Biennial: to promote an architecture quality for the people and the cities.

The exhibition is organized by the Barbara Cappochin Foundation on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the International Architecture Biennial with the University of Padua.

The exhibition is open to visitors until July 21, 2024. Admission is free.

  • For more information about the exhibition, see HERE.
Tikkurila Church interior lobby and second floor balcony

Quality of life – Quality of architecture

The Barbara Cappochin Foundation was created with the aim of keeping alive the memory of Barbara, who was a young student at the Venice IUAV Faculty of Architecture, by promoting the quality of architecture. Placing architecture between man and nature, the activities of the foundation aim to make visible the bond between life and architecture. They emphasize the role of architecture as a service, as a quest for emotion, as a place of transmission and protection, a welcoming place for sharing and living together in diversity, architecture as lightness and transparency.

  • To learn more about the Barbara Cappochin Foundation, see HERE.