The form and organisation of the new parish hall are derived directly from the requirements as well as the structural conditions and traditions of the place.
On a narrow plot of land, in addition to the parish hall, group rooms and serving functions, a spacious outdoor space with an attractive thoroughfare and views of the church was to be created. Although not recognizable at first glance, Heddesheim has a very distinctive building structure and architectural language from the time of tobacco cultivation.
As a gable-roof building, similar to the neighbouring barns, the parish hall stands at right angles to the church, taking up the alignments of the nave and sacristy, forming a clear ensemble with it and thus defining the new path between Oberndorfstraße and Beindstraße. Through a bevel in the floor plan, the parish hall mediates between the existing alignments, opens up the space towards the town centre and allows views into the depth of the property and the church. Despite the spread of the floor plan, the slightly rising ridge allows a straight eaves edge to the eastern neighboring property and gives the building additional dynamism and markance to the south towards the center of the village.
The foyer as the linchpin is located in the middle of the building, but is visible from the street space through the cut. The loggia not only forms a weather-protected front zone of the meeting room, but at the same time enables a dry connection to the church interior via the previous sacristy, which will be lowered to the level of the nave and parish hall. This will create barrier-free access to the church, which will make the previous ramp obsolete. In terms of fire protection, only the escape staircase with integrated outdoor toilets, which is inserted into a niche of the property, enables the foyer with a three-sided gallery to be used generously as the heart of the building. The group rooms on the upper floor can be opened to form an enfilade through connecting doors and the community centre can be turned into an exhibition building.
[Text: motorplan Architekten] (https://www.motorplan.eu/)
Pictures: Oli Hege
