A NEW CHURCH SQUARE FOR WALDBRÖL Competition Kirchplatz Waldbröl (2nd place)

The hall church with its historic steeple as the oldest building in the city, forms the center around which the various open spaces are connected. The open space in the immediate vicinity of the church defines a clear foundation on which the building stands and highlights the building as a landmark building in the cityscape.

For the adjoining church square, the design provides for the existing raised beds with their dense tree structure to be removed in order to remove the visual and urban barrier and to open the church square to the historic urban space. The functions of the existing and thus familiar furnishing elements will be taken up, reinterpreted in terms of design and integrated into the image of the urban church square. To the north of the church, the dense green structure will be taken back and a "garden of remembrance" will be created. The freed areas will be redesigned in a usable way. The retaining wall at the "Alte Rathausstraße" is taken back up to the staircase at the Kaiserstraße and swung inwards.

As an inviting gesture, a generous staircase develops out of the topographical situation and leads visitors and residents up to the historic entrance portal of the church. The entrance area is brought together with the church square in terms of design by means of a uniform floor covering.

FREE SPACE FUNCTIONS

The new church square invites you to linger, creates generosity and develops the necessary flexibility for a variety of uses in the public space through its permeability. Thus, the fixed, spatially effective fixtures are arranged at the edges of the square. The central square area, as well as the immediate surroundings of the church building, remain free of fixed fixtures. Only the water feature in the form of a jet field is integrated centrally on the square surface. Due to its flush integration into the surface of the square, it does not represent a barrier in the urban space and can be temporarily switched off in order to cross the area unhindered on market days or during other events.

In order to gain temporarily usable open space on the northern rear side, the flat area is designed as a gravel lawn and thus remains unsealed. The grassed area blends in with the surrounding green structures, but at the same time can be used temporarily for events due to its usability. The existing gravestones on the rear facade of the church will be taken up and relocated to the opposite side. A new staircase leads from the "Alte Rathausstraße" up to the church and thus creates a direct connection. The existing shrubs will be removed; individual rhododendrons will be relocated to the lower edge of the embankment to make the rear area more visible while providing an unobstructed view of the church building.


FURNISHING AND MATERIALS OF THE SPACES

The church square is characterized by a clear and reduced design language. The defining element is a row of benches running parallel to the church façade, which allows for a quiet and pleasant lounge area. The elegant and puristic seating element follows the design principles of the square design. It structures the square without imposing itself. Wooden seat cushions create a pleasant seating comfort and invite visitors to linger. The seating furniture is interrupted by trimmed Kaiser lime trees, which define areas of light shade with their canopy of leaves and thus contribute significantly to a pleasant place to stay. At the same time, the roof-shaped trees do not obstruct the façade of the prominent church building and thus remain visible in their conciseness. A crown approach of 2.25 allows at the same time a problem-free standing under the leaf roof.

Parallel to the benches a water play in form of a nozzle field is integrated into the paving. The low water fountains offer a nice play opportunity for children and at the same time underline the high quality of stay.

The location of the monument remains largely unchanged. The existing parking ticket machine will be relocated to the opposite side.

The targeted removal of trees, visual relationships are strengthened or created new. High-quality tree plantings at the edges of the square reinforce the atmospheric value and at the same time form a space-creating and structuring element.

The facade of the church building not only forms the rear edge of the square, but also gives the urban space a unique, individual character through its special stone structure. In the choice of surface materiality, the design picks up on this historic façade structure and transfers it to the square design. The surface of different large concrete stone elements ensures a pleasant and safe walkability.