ULLERØD CHURCH CENTRE

The proposal is a continuation of Plesner’s church architecture. Drawing inspiration from medieval churches and monasteries, it adds new features such as a courtyard and assembly rooms, integrated into a coherent whole. A new cruciform shape strengthens the connection between the church, parish house, and vicarage. The project is based on sustainable solutions with a focus on flexibility, robustness, and material awareness.

NEW EXTENSION ROOTED IN HISTORY

Ulrik Plesner’s church was built as a church for Grundtvig’s folkehøjskole in Ullerød. With the basic form of a basilica and its columns and vaults, it has an inner idiom and a vision of equality that honors nature and the Christian tradition, drawing from medieval churches and monasteries. The proposal reintroduces these historical sources of inspiration in the new church extension, the assembly rooms, as well as in a new central courtyard with reference to the monastery garden. Two wings span between the new nave of the church and the south building, thus ensuring that one can move around the complex without having to go outdoors. Between the church, the parish house, and the rectory, a forecourt is established, which unifies the complex and creates an intimate urban space between the buildings.

INCORPORATING NATURE AND SUSTAINABILITY

The church is extended to the south with a side aisle that connects to the open courtyard and the parish house. This introduces a cross shape that emphasizes the arrival axis from the porch across the courtyard, marking the transition to the parish house. The courtyard symbolizes nature, which is an essential element in the church. Sustainability is incorporated into the project through integrative solutions in which architecture, social functions, great flexibility, and robustness for future changes – as well as energy and resource optimization – are seamlessly integrated.

EMPHASIS ON LASTING QUALITIES

The ambition for the building is to be both resilient and adaptable. A high level of quality in long-lasting and beautiful materials and architectural solutions should ensure a building with lasting qualities, while the organization and structure allow for positive changes, new uses of the spaces, and easy reconfiguration of interior walls. In this way, the building is both rooted in durable traditions and ready for the constant changes that time and new users will inevitably bring to a parish house.

Culture

Transformation

Public

Private

Planning