April 25: Southern Finland tour – Kaleva Church, Tampere
Another animal-shaped building by the Pietiläs, the Kaleva Church (which in plan resembles a fish, i.e. the ichthys symbol, but spikier), was our next stop. It was completed in 1966. It is situated in the middle of a park (Liisanpuisto) ringed by midrise housing blocks.
On the way: an intriguing traincar-style building.
The Kaleva Church from a distance.
There it is.
It scoops you in.
Sconces? Not sure.
The volume of the church is basically just the plan vertically extruded, but it's so tall that that's quite an effective strategy, especially given all the curves of the walls. The slight modulations of color in the reflected light on the wall here are quite nice.
The organ, plus a cascade of pews.
I like the composition of varied mullion and pane heights in the windows, as shown by the sunlight coming through them.
Must have been pretty intense to install those wooden slats.
Whoooaah.
Second-hand sunlight is one of the loveliest things.
A glimpse into the smaller parts of the church.
A scale model, quite illustrative.
Some glyphic lights.
Snowblindingly bright wall.
More bright wallz.