The Sanctuary of Silence. A commission through the University of Helsinki to build a community space for Silence and Meditation.
Located on the remote island of Uto in the middle of the Baltic Sea, our team discovered an old World War II army bunker - a structure intended for war - and transformed it into a place of beauty and peace.
Our team spent one week on the island, went back to the studio to design and prep, then came back and built this 2x6 wooden structure over the course of a few days.
Jaipal Singh & Kentaro Negano
Feb 2009 - Finland's leading Architectural publication
Helsinki Design Studio
The interior of the bunker is remade into a place for solitude and reflection where one can enjoy a moment of reflection with a view out to the horizon through the newly framed aperture.
The elegant structure is a quiet sanctuary within the elements, where one's view is directed upward to frame the sky.
This project embodies a timeless principle of design, where even a modest budget can utilize simple elements to transform the built environment into a deeply meaningful place.
