wfn.org | Architect of Estonian church draws closer to faith

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 24, 2000  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{026}

NOTE:  This report may be used with UMNS story #025.

A UMNS Feature 
By Felix Corley*

One of the two architects who drew up the plans for the United Methodist
Baltic Mission Center in the Estonian capital Tallinn says his involvement
in designing the church has brought him closer to faith. 

"Designing the church helped me be religious," Vilen Kunnapu, of the
partnership Kunnapu and Padrik, told United Methodist News Service in an
interview in his design studio in Tallinn. "I have not always been
religious. It has happened during the last five to seven years. It is a step
by step process and it's continuing.

"I'm a Christian, but do not belong to any community at the moment. Maybe in
one year I will be a member of that community," he said, referring to the
Methodist congregation that meets in the Mission Center. "Who knows?" 

Did his new-found appreciation of faith help him design the worship building
for the Methodist community? "If anything, it was the other way round."

Explaining the ideas behind his design, Kunnapu demonstrated his commitment
to a building that enhances worship. "The building comes from inside out,"
he affirmed. Rummaging for some paper amid the mounds of plans that cover
his desk he explained: "When you go in, it is like a
pilgrimage; you start from the ground and go up a long ramp to reach the
sanctuary. It is not like an office building. The Mission Center has many
functions, but the main part of it is the sanctuary. There are many other
elements, though, including a school, a library, a restaurant, a music
studio, a music shop and a bookshop."

With quick pencil lines, he sketched out his ideas. "The sanctuary is a bit
like the Pantheon -- there is a big hole in the ceiling where the light
comes in. When you look up, you can see the cross on the spire. In the
church school, the roof is glass and the cross is also visible from there."

Kunnapu had little experience of church architecture when he began work on
the Mission Center. "This is the first church we worked on, although we have
done a few plans for competitions. We even won a second prize for one, a
Lutheran church in the Estonian countryside."

But although Soviet-era restrictions on building new churches were lifted a
decade ago, few new churches have gone up in Estonia. "This is the first
main church to be built in Tallinn since independence in 1991," Kunnapu
declared.

Tallinn itself has many old churches in its historic city center -- perhaps
too many within a short walking distance of each other -- but farther out,
they are few and far between. The Baltic Mission Center is a little distance
from the old city on the main road to the eastern town of Narva. 

Kunnapu believes his design is special. "It is unusual to have such a
monumental church building. Elsewhere in the world, churches are like boxes,
they are functional. We wanted to express something more."

Kunnapu was impressed by the commitment to his design shown by the Methodist
superintendent in Estonia, Olav Parnamets. 

"He liked our company, that's why they chose us," the architect said. "He
and his colleagues gave us great freedom. He ... quickly understood our
ideas. We liked him too. When we were doing the design, he came several
times, and each time the atmosphere lightened here in the studio when he
arrived. It was a pleasure to cooperate with him."

Parnamets brought in architects from the United States and Scandinavia to
look over the plans once they were drawn up. Far from bothering him, Kunnapu
welcomed this collaboration with "interesting people." "Our design was
unusual, brave. American expertise convinced me it was possible."

Kunnapu and his colleague, Ain Padrik, began work on the project in 1994,
but Kunnapu is not too concerned that the Mission Center has still not been
finished. 

"A church is a church," he said. "The money comes from people all around the
world. You can't complete a building like this in a year. It takes time. The
building must remain interesting for 100 years -- you mustn't just follow
fashion. It has to be a building that will stand the test of time."

Throughout the project, the costs have risen. "The projected budget when we
started was some $1.5 million," Kunnapu said. "Now the figure is about three
times that."

The construction has had to take into account the funds that have been
available. The building company that began the work went bankrupt last year.

"It was not the best year for building companies in Estonia," Kunnapu said
ruefully. However, the company had completed most of the building, and the
Methodists are now employing small contractors to finish the work as and
when finance is available. "For half a year, the church had quite a problem
with money."

The Mission Center project was launched with a $1 million gift from the
Kwang Lim Methodist Church of Seoul, South Korea. The United Methodist Board
of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Church have contributed
generously. The U.S.-based Friends of Estonia group also has been
instrumental in raising support for the project.

Although the work is not yet completed, a visit to the Mission Center shows
that the building is already humming with life. Hundreds of people crammed
into the meeting hall in mid-January for a joint Christian prayer service,
and regular worship services for the community already take place there. 

The main work that remains involves the completion of the sanctuary. Inside,
it is still a concrete shell, with scaffolding reaching up to the ceiling
and workers toiling away in distant corners.

Visually, the Mission Center provides welcome relief from the square blocks
along the Narva highway. The long, rounded shape rising to the cross-topped
spire is reminiscent of a ship.

Behind the church, though, stands a busy gas station, marring the splendor
of the new building. Kunnapu is unfazed. "It's the city," he said.

# # #

*Corley is a free-lance writer based in England.

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United Methodist News Service
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