St. Johannes in Merkstein by Emil Steffann

St. Johannes in Merkstein by Emil Steffann | History – Present – Future (Working Title)

The mergers of parishes in the Aachen diocese mean that in the future not all buildings used by the church can be permanently maintained by the parishes. This also affects the Catholic Church of St. Johannes in Merkstein, which was built by Emil Steffann in 1961/62.

Against this background, architecture students at RWTH Aachen University developed concepts for the reuse, partial use or conversion of the church as part of a two-semester design project – carried out in the winter term 2017/18 and summer term 2018. An essential basis for the design was the scientific documentation of the church building, which is significant in terms of architectural history. Thus, among other things, a building survey was made and complementary archival records from different archives were evaluated.

The results of the documentation and design project – from a detailed presentation of the planning and construction history to the extensive construction documentation and the students' conversion designs – are currently being compiled into a publication.