Striving Towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

We visited Temppeliaukio Church, one of Helsinki’s most beloved landmarks, carved directly into solid rock. It’s known for its striking design and remarkable acoustics, drawing both tourists and concert-goers. But standing inside, we could tell it’s still, above all, an active place of worship and reflection.

The Architects

We learned that brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, both architects, won a 1960 to 1961 design competition with their bold proposal to build a church hall directly into the bedrock. Their unconventional design sparked public debate at the time, but the finished church, opened in 1969, has since become a beloved part of Helsinki’s cultural identity.

Inside the Church

Walking in from street level, we found ourselves in an oval-shaped hall lit naturally through narrow skylights ringing the base of the copper dome. The dome stretches 24 metres across and rises 13 metres at its highest point, wrapped in 22 kilometres of copper strip.

The rock walls around us stood 5 to 9 metres tall, left deliberately rough, both for their look and for the acoustics. We could even see the drill marks still visible in the stone, kept on purpose to show how it was carved. Water trickling through natural cracks is quietly channeled away beneath the floor.

The Altar

The altar sits before a natural fissure in the rock dating back to the Ice Age, which we found especially striking. The altar itself is polished granite, the floor is smooth concrete, and the pulpit is reinforced concrete, while the pews are birch wood. We noticed the metalwork, including the altar cross, baptismal font, and candelabra, forged by artist Kauko Moisio, and the textiles designed by Tellervo Strömmer. The greenery around the church was planned by landscape architect Erik Sommerschield, and the surrounding stone wall was built from excavated rock.

We didn’t hear any bells, since the church has none. Instead, a chime melody composed by Taneli Kuusisto plays through speakers mounted on the outer walls. Found this there.