The brick surfaces gracing the Dominikuszentum stand in stark contrast to the adjacent dwellings, many of which sport colourfully rendered facades and the accompanying external thermal-insulation systems. The sensual material was used for the ceilings, floors and walls and has an aura of calmness. In addition, it represents both time-tested building culture and the primal building material earth.

The design envisions a serene setting at the conceptual level, as well. The large courtyard — its centre occupied by two Indian bean trees — is shielded from the hustle and bustle of the city beyond. The roof terraces are also visually screened off, blocking out distracting stimuli and calling on the members of the congregation to turn their attention inward. The architects’ success in creating a contemplative, quiet work of architecture is attributable in large part to the selection of peat-fired brick as dominant material. Special attention was paid to obtaining bricks with irregularities: the textured effect animates the facade and contributes to a sense of surface depth.

At the three entrances, words and phrases of scriptural significance were engraved in the bricks in twenty different languages (typography and graphic design by Stefanie Krieger). Among these inscriptions are: “the seven gifts of the holy spirit”, “offering”, and “spirit”. There are 300 palm-sized bronze crosses embedded in the chapel’s brick facade; their arrangement in groups of three recalls the Holy Trinity.

The elevations and the floor plan of the chapel were derived from the golden section. The slight deviation from the right angle is barely perceptible, yet imbues the holy space with a special atmosphere. The architects specified that the brick “envelope lining” in the chapel be blue; consequently, the artist Anna Leonie applied as many as twenty-seven layers of glaze to the bricks by hand. The surface quality of these bricks can still be discerned through the glaze, while the intensity with which they glow varies, depending on the number of layers applied.

The large skylight, embellished with excerpts from the confession of faith (a work by the artist Andreas Horlitz), reinforces the effect. For celebrations, the bronze gates are opened, thereby extending the chapel into the forecourt and enabling a larger number of worshippers to attend.

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This article is an excerpt from DETAIL — Review of Architecture

   

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