A spacious and multifunctional home for a modern church

The Gospelhouse in Nördlingen is a modern and extremely dynamic church. When Anna Philipp and her team from Philipp Architekten BDA first came into contact with lead pastor Stefan Striefler, the congregation was already in their property in the centre of Nördlingen. The location was perfect. However, the building, a plain former switching station of a telecommunication company, offered few and far too small rooms, apart from a suitable meeting hall, to adequately accommodate the diverse offerings of the active congregational life.

Anna Philipp's design foresees a generously glazed extension to accommodate the foyer and the relocation of the internal access to a staircase tower as essential measures to free the congregation from its confinement. The light-flooded, transparent foyer with café and book lounge makes it possible to see from afar what is taking place inside the church. The open and inviting character of the building is intended to deliberately encourage guests and visitors to enter. At the same time, the newly created foyer, together with the steeple-style staircase, is the church's new calling card towards the city centre. The modern, transparent building reflects the inner self-image of the congregation and thus leads to a completely new perception in the city and far beyond. On the floor below, the Philipp Architekten team has created a diverse, colourful and multifunctional children's and youth world. The absolute highlight - and not only for children - is the slide that takes you from the foyer to the centre of the children's house in the shortest possible time. The plenum with stage flows smoothly into a kind of indoor playground with ball pool and climbing frame and is complemented by a number of individually designed group rooms. On the top floor, a quiet retreat was designed for the staff, offering both modern offices with different layouts and a range of group and meeting rooms. A central lounge area with a long table is the ideal place for a casual come-together over a cup of coffee or tea. But the imposing space also provides the perfect setting for official meetings of various committees and groups.

For the building and the construction, the team of Philipp Architekten and the municipality opted for a sustainable and energy-efficient timber construction method, which also had the advantage of a short construction period due to prefabrication. In this way, the disruptions caused by additions and alterations were minimised to the utmost. In addition to classical architecture, Anna Philipp and her office also devoted themselves to interior design, furnishings, lighting planning and room furnishings for this project. Every single room was designed down to the last detail. Colour and material concepts were developed, built-in furniture was designed, and furnishings were selected and skilfully placed. The result is a modern and at the same time warm, inviting ambience in which all generations feel extremely comfortable.