St. Johann Baptist Church in Neu-Ulm, from Renovation to Reconstrucion. Dominikus Böhm’s experience

Abstract

The project which stands on a previous building is always a complex task that requires the appropriate technical and cultural knowledge. The architectural survey is the action to reach the full knowledge of a building, to comprehend the history, the composition and the structure. The architect Dominikus Böhm’s experience (1880-1955) is related to the ability to combine different knowledge for the artifact realization. In 1921 the architect is called by the Neu-Ulm Catholic community to draft a Renovation (Umbau) of the Garnisonkirche, built in 1857. The project (1922-1926) is to give the building a hall, holding the growing demand for believers. Overcome the need to keep the old style of the previous building, he realizes a new building characterized by the use of reinforced concrete. The layout plan shows a central nave and two aisles. The outer walls and the tower are built with recycled materials from demolished Ulmer fortifications (Jura limestone, brick and roof tiles). Inside, the contrast between the hollow brick floor, the white walls and the weird vaults, forms a striking spatial creation, especially in the baptistery and the Resurrection chapel. Technology applied in the vault is Rabitz: reinforced concrete made without construction formwork. The pillars diagonally separate the aisles. This arrangement emphasizes the expressionist space, focusing the light toward the altar. Following the 1945 bombing, Dominikus Böhm is called to draw up a reconstruction project (Wiederaufbau). Basically he stays true to his previous project, maintaining the appearance and character of the original one; however, he proceeds to replace the collapsed vaults with one’s with simplified geometry, also for economic hardship. Moreover, he decided to redefine the side walls in order to capture more light possible. According to specialists, St. Johann Baptist Church is one of world's most important expressionist churches of the 20th century.