Studio Professor: Miroslav Sik

Studio Theme: “Christian Center in Unterrohr Schlieren”

This project dealt with the design of a Christian center for a site along the Limmat river in Schlieren, Switzerland. A large auditorium space for worship services, as well as smaller classrooms and administrative spaces were required - in essence, a campus where the congregation could develop a physical, social and spiritual sense of community and worship.

The idea of gathering and worshiping under a tent or canopy is the concept for this project. A sweeping ceiling ascends from low, horizontal windows on the sides of the auditorium, up to narrow skylights, which allow the infiltration of daylight from above. The curving surface of the ceiling suggests the hanging tension of a canopy. As the sun moves across the sky, the infiltrating daylight creates continuously changing gradients of light upon these surfaces. The metal cladding of the curved roof further reinforces the sense of material tension.

Classrooms and administrative spaces are divided into four additional buildings, creating a central courtyard. The classroom buildings are oriented so as to direct special attention to the meditative grove of trees that lie between the site and the river.