Small Hybrid

Small Hybrid | Zurich, Switzerland | 2023
[Helsinki Zürich Office]

Martin Luther Church with Parish House and Apartments

The replacement new building is an integral part of the Martin Luther Church, an expressive tent-roofed concrete structure with a freestanding disc-shaped bell tower. It was built between 1957 and 1958, according to the plans by Ernst-Ulrich Krägel and Franz Steinbrüchel, in the immediate vicinity of the Beckenhofgut. The church nave, which celebrates the geometric form of the triangle in its ground and elevation plan, is characterized by a simple concrete aesthetic both on the exterior and interior. The facades contrast with a rough, broken white textured plaster.

The expressive design of the church hall marks the urban situation at the intersection of Kurvenstrasse and Beckenhofstrasse. Due to limited space, the access to the church hall is resolved through the annex building with the parish house. In the same process, the rooms of the church community, which do not find space in the narrow church interior, are accommodated in the parish house. The small spatial structure of the existing building at that time prevented the desired spaciousness for the church community rooms, resulting in cramped conditions. The lack of accessibility between the church and the other rooms of the church community, as well as the renovations that would be required years later, led to a decision to conduct a competition for a replacement new building for the parish house.

Today, the church building and the parish house are in clear relation to each other. The sculptural sacred building, which has been listed since 1996, is positioned on the tapered plot. The new infill building for the parish house takes a step back, separating from the church and adopting a simple geometric volume. This retreat creates a gap that houses a low intermediate structure – the entrance to the church hall – which is accessed via Beckenhofstrasse. The act of stepping back is reinforced by the zenithal lighting through the rear-located sacristy into the foyer. The foyer is the centerpiece of the ground floor, establishing geometric references to the church hall and giving the sacred building the necessary appreciation through the newly created spaciousness.

In addition to the foyer and sacristy, the ground floor also accommodates a community kitchen, a spatious community hall with wooden interior and a front garden, and the necessary sanitary facilities. The pastor’s room and the office are connected via an internal staircase on the upper floor. The other facilities of the community are located in the basement.

The infill building, which can be seen as a hybrid structure in terms of typology, follows the same hybrid approach in its design of access and facade. The seven apartments, arranged above the community spaces in dedicated residential floors, are accessed from Kurvenstrasse. Six compact apartments are organized as duplex units on standard floors and are each oriented towards three sides. Their recessed loggia-type balconies are oriented towards Beckenhofgut-Park and the lake and divide the compact living spaces into two zones. The penthouse apartment crowns the house and has additional unique features such as two spacious terraces, internal access to the elevator, and an internal staircase.

The facade design of the community house adapts the rough textured plaster of the existing church in the same color tone. The special window formats of the existing church are not replicated; instead, full-height windows are used on all floors. These windows provide spaciousness and contribute to a bright atmosphere in both the community spaces and the apartments. The arrangement of the facade openings gives the simple volume of the new building different appearances towards both streets. On the valley side, it creates a somewhat grander church facade, while on the slope side, it presents a more modest residential facade. From the church’s entrance side, the house appears elevated due to its increased height. The generous window arrangements of the community hall emphasize the importance of the church community spaces. The loggia-balconies of the apartments above, facing the Beckenhofpark, enhance the character of the main facade, while the entrance from Kurvenstrasse has a more restrained appearance. Text description by the architects.