ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. St Agnes in Berlin, Germany by brandlhuber+ architektenMay 31st, 2013 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: brandlhuber+ architekten Werner Düttmann was one of post-war-architecture’s most influental figures in West-Berlin. Not only as long term head of the town planning deapartment, especially as architect, he shapped West-Berlins face. Among his work are buildings such as the Academy of the Arts in Berlin’s Hansaviertel or the Brücke-Museum.
One of his less known ensembles is the church St.Agnes with its community center, erected following the principles of brutalism. The property is surrounded by predominantly eight story residential building form the 1960s, nearby Berlinische Galerie and the Jewish Museum. Due to the fact that the catholic church lost more and more active members, the church and community center become a sleeping beauty that some even wanted to demolish because of the loss of its original use.In 2011 gallery owner Johann König made a 100-year-long lasting demise charter with the catholic church for the entire ensemble after Arno Brandlhuber called his attention for the building. All the buildings are going to be refurbished following the original plannings of Werner Düttmann, the transformation of the church room itself will be done with a single intervention: On the hight of the organ loft a new level will be introduced that devides the excisting space into a exhibition-storage beneath and the main gallery above it. At the beginning of 2013 Office for Metroploitan Architecture (OMA) exhibited „Public Works“, its 2012 contribution to the Architecture Biennial in Venice, in the cleared and profaned church room of St. Agnes, which was itself shown in Venice. In April 2013 artist Alicja Kwade made a light and sound installation based on the principle of the Foucault Pendulum in the church room before next the implementation of the „table“ will be done. Contact brandlhuber+ architekten
Categories: Church, Community Centre |