Magazine: Church in Munich
To preserve God’s creation is more than merely a mission statement to the New Apostolic Church of Southern Germany: For their new church building in Munich, the congregation stipulated that the zero-emission standard be met. Architects Haack + Höpfner fulfilled this requirement but also pursued an additional sustainability agenda: to increase the service life of the building by making it as flexible in use as possible. Its centrepiece is the church nave; a white cube illuminated by linear skylights, with its walls covered in smooth, hand-made lime plaster. Further south, a series of assembly rooms open out onto a green courtyard via glazed doors. They are only separated from each other and from the nave by sliding walls. Heat in the building is supplied by a groundwater heat pump, and the electricity demand for heating, hot water, fans and pumps covered by a rooftop PV array on the southern part of the building.
