Infrastructure & Aviation

Project information

  1. Location Oslo Airport, Norway
  2. Area60 m²

Project details

  1. Year2020
  2. StatusCompleted
  3. Client Avinor
  4. Scope Airport planning and design
    Sustainability
    VIZ
    BIM
    Interior design

Nordic was commissioned to design a chapel at Oslo’s Gardermoen International Airport. The chapel’s presence is defined by the natural light from the glass above during the day, supplemented by artificial lighting during the evening.

Transparency and openness for all

The sculptural shape of the chapel is built from a well anchored steel base and fin-system with 242 vertically mounted CNC-cut oak slats, with each ‘fin’ unique in shape. As seen from a perpendicular angle, the space becomes transparent, a metaphor for its openness for all. Below eye-level, and when seated, there is an acoustical wall in between each vertical slat, ensuring that sound and privacy are protected for those who come to meditate, pray, think, or just relax.

A silent hide away

At the opening, the airport priest described the chapel as a little jewel and silent sanctuary from everyday life:

“It is a space where you can retire into silence, withdraw and just sit by yourself. The space is reminiscent of a snail’s shell or a labyrinth, where you follow a narrow path that leads you to something completely different, into the silence and contemplative mode of the space. It is a space where you can perform your daily prayer rituals or send your thoughts to someone at home. A space where you can unwind, to connect with something different – and then you exit in the opposite direction, back into everyday life”.