September 13, 2018 | Presentation of Students' Design Projects

Utilization concepts for St. Johannes in Merkstein - Cycle path church, generation living, book workshop?

 
Presentation of the results of a student design project by Dr.-Ing. Caroline Helmenstein and architecture students of RWTH Aachen University.
 
Like many other sacred buildings, the Church of St. Johannes in Merkstein is also affected by a process of change in the Catholic Church. Not all buildings of a merged parish can be permanently subsidized by the diocese and new, economically self-supporting utilization concepts have to be developed.
 
On Thursday, September 13, 2018, the results of a student design project dealing with this issue were presented in St. Johannes. Over a period of nine months, 15 students of the RWTH Aachen University developed a very broad spectrum of different proposals for the further use, partial use or conversion of the church at the Chair of Architectural History, which should serve the community as a basis for discussion and a source of ideas. The aim was to respect the architectural language of the renowned church builder Emil Steffann, who built the church of St. Johannes in 1961/62, as well as its location within the town of Merkstein.
 
After a greeting by deacon Franz-Josef Kempen in the name of the Bildungswerk St. Willibrord Merkstein and a brief introduction by pastor Heinz Intrau, the design supervisor Dr.-Ing. Caroline Helmenstein traced the students' approach to the task and summarised the results. In an exhibition arranged in the entrance hall of the church, the drafts illustrated with architectural models could then be examined individually.
 
The Aachener Zeitung as well as the Kirchenzeitung des Bistums Aachen have reported about the event; you can download the articles at the bottom of the page.
 
The event was supported by the Bildungswerk St. Willibrord Merkstein.