ShowCase is a new feature on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.
We are accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.
Today we present the competition winning design for a new church in Wuensdorf, Germany by GRAFT. The church is located in a previously contaminated, Russian-occupied, area of former East Germany. The structure is intended to facilitate both religious services as well as provide space for a variety of other types of events.
The following is a description of the project, with images and text provided by GRAFT...
Until the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Russian Army’s headquarters in Germany occupied the vast territory in and around Wuensdorf. Closed to the public for decades, the area was left with contaminated soil but also beautiful landscapes where nature had been left alone to flourish.
In this area today, an enormous new development for health, recreation and sports is underway. The competition called for a spiritual centre: a church for confession that could be used as a multifunctional assembly hall or opera as well. Given the historic background of the location, GRAFT questioned the values of traditional form, known typologies and institutionalised solutions for this particular project. We focused instead on a Church design that would provide a new framework for increasingly complex forms of belief systems and we approached the competition with the conviction of positive change and faith in inclusion over the exclusionary practices of traditional religious establishments.
Our belief was that no clear typology for a church, mosque or theatre should dominate the shape of the building, but that it should be present at the same time to create an entirely new typology. In the end, the formal language of the building communicated different religious and ‘scene-o-graphic’ typologies in its shape, without being literal. A diamond-shaped crystal ‘envelope’ was developed from three different geometric prefigures that fuse into one another.
This crystal envelope protects the visitor, but does not cut him/her off from the surrounding landscape. As a mental space for prayer rather than a real enclosure, the landscape has essential atmospheric importance, as it flows from outside to inside the building. All technological functions for modern theatre have been submerged into this landscape, providing complete flexibility for any kind of performance or service imaginable.
With the sermon on the mountain as a metaphoric starting point, a natural auditorium and stage are created that provide the ‘scene-o-graphic’ background for people coming together in prayer underneath the sky.
north elevation
east elevation
south elevation
west elevation
Graft
(L - R): Lars Kruckeberg, Gregor Hoheisel, Alejandra Lillo, Thomas Willemeit, Wolfram Putz
GRAFT is a full service architectural firm located in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Beijing. Our collective professional experience encompasses a wide array of building types including Hospitality Design, Fine Arts, Educational, Institutional, Commercial and Residential facilities. The firm has won numerous awards in Europe as well as in the United States.
GRAFT was established in 1998 in Los Angeles, California by Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz and Thomas Willemeit. Alejandra Lillo became a partner at Graft LA in 2007. Graft later opened offices in Berlin, Germany in 2001 as well as in Bejing, China in 2005 with Gregor Hoheisel as a partner.
GRAFT was conceived as a ‘Label’ for Architecture, Urban Planning, Exhibition Design, Music and the “pursuit of happiness”. Since the firm was established, it has been commissioned to design and manage a wide range of projects in multiple disciplines and locations. With the core of the firm’s enterprises gravitating around the field of architecture and the built environment, GRAFT has always maintained an interest in crossing the boundaries between disciplines and “grafting” the creative potentials and methodologies of different realities. This is reflected in the firm’s expansion into the fields of music, car design, art installations, academic projects and “eventings” as well as in the variety of project locations in Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Italy, France and in the U.S. and Mexico.
With a staff of talented architectural professionals and administrators, GRAFT has the resources and technology necessary to execute a project from programming to design and through construction, including construction documents, construction administration, and governmental agency review phases. GRAFT has rigorously undertaken an increasing role in programming, master-planning and urban design. Additionally, our firm maintains successful relationships, as needed, with associate architectural and engineering firms and specialty consultants.
29 Comments
Nice new feature, Archinect!
Though I'm generally not a big fan of shardi-ness, I like this project. It is actually "jewel-like" in this setting, and the non-traditional program makes it seem appropriately loose in form. Very pretty.
congrats Wolfram and other grafties on a great project....very cool. like a merging of the philips pavilion by corbusier with philip johnson's crystal cathedral.....very beautiful formally. i'd like to see some interior shots of it to see how it manifests itself beyond the renderings.
they are some pretty renderings, so congrats on that and winning the competition. though, not to be the negative nellie in here, but I think there are some serious issues if this thing is supposed to actually be built.
1) I think they will find early on that glazing frames won't quite span that far (especially concave curvatures) sans any sort of intermediate support or sub structure
2) torqued grids like that mean that every glazing panel is unique. I hope the clients have a massive budget
3) glass boxes paint you into a corner from the beginning. there's no room for value engineering, except reducing total volume of glazing or swapping the glass out for polycarbonate. that'd be stunning, wouldn't it? so again, hope they have a big budget
4) the design leaves absolutely no hidden spaces-- no place to tuck air ducts, wiring, lights, sprinkler pipes, etc. will it all be exposed? wouldn't look quite as elegant, would it? so many designs are ruined because the design didn't take the guts into consideration and by the time they finally come up the only options left are nasty compromises... or are the building codes in Wuensdorf REALLY relaxed...?
good luck with it.
Johnson's Crystal Cathedral was my first thought on seeing that interior view looking down into the "bowl", too, futureboy! This is less bombastic, and a nice evolution of the idea - Johnson's HAD to be bombastic because the space frame was so rigid, CG forms now allow us to develop that idea with mass customization that shouldn't be *too* outrageously expensive, which touches on subtect's point #2.
As to point#4, subtect: the rendering seems to show interior trees - maybe those "trees" are in reality like those cell phone towers masquerading as trees - but in this case they hide air diffusion systems!! ;-)
yeah metamechanic, I'm familiar with that rule of thumb. I'm also familiar with the (sometimes unintentional, sometimes otherwise) bait and switch game played by architects that take full advantage of that assumption in the concept phase, and then find out it's a little more complicated than that in the reality phase.
for the fun of keeping this going-- point by point:
"1) talk to Sobek Engineers, I here glass has more tensile strength than steel."
I would want something more than hearsay before I base a design concept on factoids like that. but it's a mute point anyway-- the glass isn't the continuous member, the frames are.
"moreover mini-frames for each panel could be made, at that scale, 1" steel probably will not be that noticable 100' above your head"
unless that 1" steel is forming some sort of deep, dense space frame, it's not going to get you much for those spans. but I admit, the scale is throwing me on this thing. first impression was that the glass is something on the scale of H&dM's prada store. but look at the third rendering down on this page. look at the size of the people closest to the building, and then look at the size of the glazing panel just above them. that thing must be about 40' long. the issues with that are self-evident, but that also means that the frame/structure shown there must be about 4-5' in diameter. but based on the spans in the interior rendering, I still think they have a structural issue.
"they mathematically based on the fabricator's limitations reduces the complexity to perhaps 10 standard panels and 10 anomolies."
parametric modeling doesn't change the basics of geometry. two torqued grids with different curvatures, different dimensions, and different numbers of divisions don't have repeated panels. you could get a little bit by absorbing the slop inside the frame (nasty detail), but designing a form based on a set of tiles is a completely different exercise from the form this thing has.
"seriously doubt this is a value engineering job."
they are counting on it, hence my comment about the budget.
your point 4 -- sure there are some options, though the hong kong bank wasn't quite the greenhouse that this thing is.
generally though, I just think that this thing looks destined to be one of those projects that ends up dramatically different from what the jury panel voted for...
Thanks for keeping this going, subtect - I'm enjoying it!
ya, me too. i had some of the same thoughts that you expressed, subtect. same goes for the second project in this series (by ben van berkel / unstudio). things are never as lovely as the renderings suggest. nevertheless, this stuff is all possible...especially with a healthy budget. that said, even with a "normal" budget i bet some quality consultants (such as sobek, front inc., et al) would be able to bring this concept to reality with a minimum of nasty compromises.
love the new featurette.
Before anything else, are there any further and useful information about client, purpose, budget, and other data? Is this real or just some renderings for PR? Very mysterious, to say the least. I am interested in finding out the extent of this project. Client(s) name does not match either. Any information is appreciated.
VOMM, to add to the puzzle, check out the competition page for this firm, 9th down in the list:
http://www.henn.com/default.asp?Nav1=Wettbewerbe&Lang=EN
A competition by Multiversa (Universität), in Wünsdorf, in 2005-- AND they won 1st place!? The Graft one above says 2006... so, is Multiversa holding annual competitions set in Wuensdorf, or is there something a little off here?
for maximum effect, maybe graft should have just set it on top of the eiffel tower...? think I'll add a wuensdorf 1st to my CV too...
apparently this guy got a 2nd place in 2005, and it is for a church so looking more legit again...
http://www.boehmarchitektur.de/englisch/hochbau/hochbau_wuensdorf.html
bit of a trick making sense of these translations, but sounds like the competition was legit but the client, multiversa, is sketchy:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.baunetz.de/db/news/%3Fnews_id%3D85227&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DMultiversa,%2BW%25C3%25BCnsdorf%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
Thank you for tracking them. Interesting trail. It sounds like much ado about a sketchy competition. Like the old eastern proverb; enough whispers can be deafening.
wait... you mean we're NOT going to get a check in the mail for this? man, this get-rich-from-architecture scheme is tougher than I thought...
1) ok, so we have a *cough* glass space frame secondary structure that spans between the primary structure shown in the renderings. and maybe some circus netting hung above the seating areas for those heavy snow days, since structural glass doesn't fail a little bit-- if it goes it's a catastrophic failure. but the primary structure is still an issue...
2) definitely yes, the subdivisions could simplify matters-- as long as the grid of the subdivisions doesn't follow the same torqued curvature faceting that the primary structure does.
btw, have you used GT digital project? I've been curious about it... and the bit about the bird nest structure-- is that an inside scoop, or is there info on that online somewhere-- link?
4) again the scale of this thing (see my comment above about the 3rd rendering down), if you increase the size of the members 3-4 times you could probably fit a bus in there. I think as rendered there's likely to be enough room inside there for whatever you want, depending on how much room the anti-gravity spray-in foam takes up...
value engineering-- ok, so we have clear glass around the base, then adding fritting as we move up until they are opaque across the entire roof, where we swap out the glass for some other assembly that has an interior space where we can put all the building guts we need. now, what sense does the building concept still have? the gymnastics we would have to go through with the torquing grids and the (apparent at least) uniform building envelope surfaces (walls, roof... interior and exterior), hiding everything within either the primary structure or these fattened panels-- and for what? what of the original concept remains? all that work for a dark underside of a roof (adding ceiling finishes would only make it worse) looming over our happy pray space like a pixelated storm cloud (actually, maybe I'm talking myself into it). but that's what I mean about the glass box concept painting you into a corner from the beginning-- there is very little wiggle room to maneuver that doesn't begin invalidating the original concept... it's a bit like the swap-out that libeskind was accused of with the ROM addition. the original model was luminous plexi and the final is metal paneling with some slit windows. he says it was a conceptual model and never intended to represent its materiality, and that I think is far, far more excusable than this, because the transparency in that case isn't critical to the concept, even detrimental (sun baking exhibits)-- but here it is absolutely essential to the concept. if you compromise the transparency, you void the design concept-- all the gymnastics orbit around maintaining a single skin of transparent panels suspended in torqued grids. if it doesn't work out it should be re-thought from the beginning instead of patching together some crippled approximation...
if those renderings were built I'd love to see it, I'd love to know the details of how, and man I'd learn a lot-- but... but...
OK, fine! You guys go ahead and patent your space-framey fritted glass anti-gravity spray foam bus parking ideas! I'll take my HVAC fake trees and go play with them in some other project!
;-) This is fun!
according to the rumor mill, brad pitt was laid off in the massive gehry layoffs and took several copies of gehry's catia over to graft and is now applying his skills toward the development of this project. brad pitt, project architect....oh, yeah.
insider information has said that anything not able to be built according to the budget will be supplemented by pitt himself to make sure the project turns out as envisioned.
you mean brad pitt himself learned GT digital project? and, since money is no object, couldn't they just buy the software? not like you need an insider connection to get it...
best of luck with the throwing-money-at-it solution, brad.
they don't say it would be made of glass, do they, hence, grafters...
twenty bucks for moi?
good idea -- maybe filling them with helium would help out the structural issues...
according to insider information ETFE is seriously beings considered as the exterior for the church, that and rubber pillows filled with water. the concept of the water filled balloons is that the exterior thermally regulates the interior environment via thermal mass. no need for interior conditioning of the space.
the structural diagram of the envelope utilizes a similar tensile strategy as the philips pavilion which was based on a mathematical progressions developed by iannis xenakis during his tenure with le corbusier. the draping of the form directly mimics the complex dynamics of a structural box versus hyberbolic tensile resolution.
futureboy, mr. connection.
nice, love the ETFE, sounds like a great direction. not sure about the water pillows though.
"the complex dynamics of a structural box versus hyberbolic tensile resolution." still chewing that, but as for the rest of it, yeah ok, but-- and again, I'm not trying to be rock in the shoe, I just want to understand how this thing works-- look at the fourth rendering down, the interior one. look at that lowest, horizontal-most frame member with a massive span and LOTS of other frame members coming down and bearing on it. nothing in xenakis' ruled surfaces solves that trick. and additionally, note that the surfaces on on the philips pavillion are solid. you'll get no diaphragm action out of this thing, especially if it is ETFE. it's the difference between an eggshell and a wire mesh.
that said, if they can minimize any additional layers of structure, I don't think it would be a tragedy if they ended up with some intermediate vertical supports, might even be nice to have the intermittent points-of-connection-to-above, instead of it all being held back to the perimeter...
and lastly, I wanted to add that this bit from above got short shrift:
"insider information has said that anything not able to be built according to the budget will be supplemented by pitt himself to make sure the project turns out as envisioned."
if that's really true, then fucking hell all hats off to him. that kind of non-investment based patronage of a project would show a love of, and commitment to, architecture that few could rival. brad, encourage your friends...
We architects are in a constant battle to keep water out of our buildings, and Graft is going to put it right in?
Those kooky kids! ;-)
man, i love the fact that everyone is actually believing what i'm saying here so blindly. although a small percentage of what i'm conjecturing is possibly true.
i don't even believe myself sometimes.
i guess the gray hairs are beginning to work for me now.
"i love the fact that everyone is actually believing what i'm saying here so blindly"
we've got no way to guage in an online forum, for all we know you work at graft. so if something is said without the courtesy of cues that it's BS you either believe it, or you end up doubting everything posted and give up on the medium... your call futureboy, add value or add shit.
owww. someone is a little crabby.
a little disinformation sometimes is necessary to point out our own fallability. although i did think it was fun to have people seriously conjecture on these as though they were possible.....sometimes more fun than seeing people contemplate on the existing state of things.
creativity is often the contemplation of the plausible as if it were truly possible. make it happen.
Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible.
Seems like ETFE would be a good choice over glass for this project, however i haven't seen ETFE used on a non geometric type form. I'm trying to write an essay on digital dilemmas and why buildings haven't reached the completely digital fabrication age that CAD should allow us to enter. This site has some good digital presentations and discussions!
I just hope it looks better when it is built.
When you really and honestly break it down.
Strip it of the catia power copies an constraints.
It's just an uninteresting space with a slightly interesting enclosure.
It might look good when it is built and set into it's environment but what does it do that this building typology doesn't already do and more importantly what can it NOT do. What is the program besides a multi-use enclosed big space?
What about this building says church in any way aside from people gathering in one place. It is also delusional to assume that you fit multi-denominational religious groups into one building. Multi-denominational chapels don't work - so why would a full blown Church, Temple, Mosque & theater?
Take the religious out of the religions and combine three geometries.
Justify it by claiming it is an exercise in structural engineering.
Twist and bend.
Render with nice light effects.
Wow. Great architecture.
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