St. Agnes Church

As the sole commissioned office, D:4 supervised the procedure for a transfer of use of the St. Agnes Church in Berlin Kreuzberg.

Project

As part of an extensive savings programme, the parishes of St. Boniface, St. Agnes and St. John in western Berlin-Kreuzberg were merged. While concepts for the future use of St. Boniface and St. John's Basilica had been determined, a new sponsorship model was required for St. Agnes. During this process, D:4 supported the parish in an advisory and coordinating capacity.

Church

The community centre, built in 1965-67 by the architect Werner Düttmann, is divided into a church, parsonage, community hall and kindergarten with a common inner courtyard. The church building as well as the bell tower consist of masonry and reinforced concrete, rough cement plaster characterizes the minimalist appearance. Just like the sparse exterior of the church, the interior of the church is completely closed off from the outside and is only illuminated by light bands in the ceilings and two window slits on the sides. Due to this reduced design, the church interior is suitable for exhibitions and events.
In view of the building's high architectural and ecclesiastical-historical significance, a careful conversion in keeping with the preservation order was desired.

Process

In the run-up to the deconsecration in 2005, the possibilities for a subsequent use were investigated. At the suggestion of D:4, the priorities were the use by another Christian community or the rededication as an art gallery and exhibition space for contemporary art. As an interim solution, the church building was rented to a free church community for several years.

In a selection process of numerous interested parties moderated by D:4, the hereditary building right in St. Agnes was awarded in 2011 to the gallery owner Johann König, who set up a gallery with contemporary art in the church and undertook to realise the conversion of the church space only with minor interventions in the space and to treat the building with care in terms of monument preservation.