Katholische Kirche St. Theodor

The new church was consecrated in March 2002. It is a sand-coloured cylindrical structure made of lightweight concrete, from which its predecessor’s tower emerges: part part of it, part sort of an add-on.
The site’s backbone is a one-storey longitudinal half-timbered building accommodating the library, the counselling and event rooms and, within the church, the wall of art. The spiritual and the temporal are surely interlocking in here.
The approach to St Theodor provides a respectful introduction to the building by slightly inclining toward the church. A high gate made of raw oak framed by a glass band marks the church’s main entrance. A natural shade and the organic form are reminiscent of a snail shell and provide space for contemplation and peace.
Beside the portal is a spiral staircase passing twelve steles representing the old St Theodor church’s stations of the Cross. A glass band between the roof area and the outer shell, which is equipped with a number of lights, brings light into the interior.
To the eastern churchyard, the church’s rotunda is windowless, with the exception of a few light slits.
The eye-catcher of the plain and light church is the tower, which serves as the sacrament chapel, where the darkest, the oldest and the holiest of the churches combine.

Author: Petra Metzger (koelnarchitektur) / Redaktion baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 05.04.2023

Categories:
Architecture » Public Buildings » Religious