The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Stockholm Structure, Swedish Urban Architecture Images

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Stockholm

Place of Worship Building Development, Sweden: WAF Award – design by Belatchew Arkitekter

21 Nov + 7 Jul 2017

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Design: Belatchew Arkitekter

Ethiopian Church in Stockholm ‘Highly Commended’ at the World Architecture Festival

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Stockholm, designed by Belatchew Arkitekter, was deemed ‘Highly Commended’ at the World Architecture Festival Awards in Berlin.

World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest international architectural event where the premier buildings of the year around the world are awarded. This year the festival took place in November in Berlin, Germany.

The jury appreciated the strong sculptural feature of the church, it’s connection to history across the borders and the way it offered a civic space to a community larger than the parish.

– Being awarded in an international context like the World Architecture Festival is especially rewarding as it proves that our projects are of international standards, says Rahel Belatchew, Principal Architect, CEO and Founder, Belatchew Arkitekter.

– This project also shows how a building intended for a congregation could simultaneously become a meeting place for a neighborhood. Bridges are built over cultures for better social cohesion and buildings in the city are optimally utilized. Both these aspects play a crucial role for the sustainable cities of the future, Rahel Belatchew concludes.

Ethiopian Church in Stockholm Shortlisted for World Architecture Festival

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Stockholm, designed by Belatchew Arkitekter, has been shortlisted for this year’s World Architecture Festival Awards in the Civic – Future Projects category.

The 10th edition of the World Architecture Festival will be held in Berlin, Germany, 15-17 November 2017. To celebrate reaching this milestone, World Architecture Festival organisers has launched the WAF Manifesto – identifying key challenges which architects will need to address over the next ten years, including climate, energy and carbon; water; ageing and health; re-use; smart city technology; building technology; cultural identity; ethics and values; power and justice; and virtual worlds.

– The festival is truly growing to be a major international event in the world of architecture and the WAF Manifesto is both challenging and inspiring, says Rahel Belatchew, Principal Architect and CEO, Belatchew Arkitekter.

– It is therefore satisfying that our design for an Ethiopian church in Stockholm has been shortlisted for an award – especially so when there apparently was a record number of entries this year, concludes Rahel Belatchew.

This project is about creating a place for a community and bringing together an ancient tradition with modern needs in another part of the world.

The building is composed of coloured concrete that takes up the colour of the red African soil and the weight and materiality from the unique rock hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia. The feeling of weight being conveyed by the outwardly inclined walls. On the inside, the Scandinavian tradition of wood is visible through large timber frames and panels.

The main feature of the church is its large, round church hall with a central dome. The deliberately introvert volume takes in daylight from above avoiding openings in the façade. The lack of openings in the facade enables the visitor to start an inner spiritual journey without distraction from the residential neighbourhood.

The windowless facades also enhance the sculptural feature of the building and emphasizes the rough materiality of the red concrete. The dome is made of a copper like metal amidst green roofs.