Evangelical church in Simmering

The evangelical church with community hall and youth room was built with the most modest means on a particularly small plot of land (20X24m) in the midst of factories, orchards and communal dwellings. The individual rooms are grouped around an atrium that is enclosed, clockwise, by the church, the community hall, the nurses' residence and the youth room and, parallel to the street, by a covered passageway. Thus, the church is entered through a small landscaped courtyard, which also serves as a secure area for the congregation to gather. The upper room of the church is completely enclosed at the top, only the ceiling is illuminated by the glazed beam area, while at the bottom it communicates with all the interior and exterior spaces of the complex. The compact and introverted space is thus supported by a living and relational area. Through the altar you can see the small garden, the front right side opens to the community hall and the rear to the atrium. The interior openness naturally entails total closure to the exterior, more or less forced by the urban situation. The walls are mostly whitewashed brick walls, stiffened in the church area by a reinforced concrete skeleton. The ceiling beams, the decking and all the interior furnishings are made of natural fir wood. The architect's aim was neither “material representation” nor a “sacrally accentuated outward character,” but “the creation of a simple house, like a protective and cultivated shell, but in its material substance very restrained and withdrawn for sacral processes.” La iglesia evangélica con salón comunitario y sala para jóvenes se construyó con los medios más modestos en una parcela especialmente pequeña (20X24m) en medio de fábricas, huertos y viviendas comunales.