Study Parisch Centre , Baar
Did not win
Katholische Kirchgemeinde Baar

New building
Study
The existing parish centre and rectory in Baar are to be replaced by a new building. The new parish centre is intended not only to accommodate the existing uses, but also to provide additional spaces and programmes. The project was developed in collaboration with the structural engineers Lüchinger+Meyer Partner, building services engineers 3-Plan, and landscape architects Nipkow Landschaftsarchitekten.

Planning 2025

Although the project did not achieve first place, we are pleased to have been awarded 3rd place in the competition for the new parish centre in Baar. With the project «Alabaster», we explored the historic centre and its surroundings.

The Catholic Church of St. Martin and St. Anna Chapel have formed the spiritual and spatial centre of Baar for centuries. The «Alabaster» project builds on this historic structure and strengthens it with three building volumes. They complement the existing buildings, define the surrounding open spaces and create new connections between the Church Square, Asyl Square and St. Martin’s Park.

The three buildings are distinguished by their individual forms, specific programmes, and differentiated responses to the site.

Building A rises four storeys, with generous floor-to-floor heights, and accommodates the public uses. Building B is three storeys high and adopts a more restrained presence, responding on scale to both the church and the historic buildings at Kirchgasse 13 and 15. Building C is also four storeys high, but more modestly proportioned than Building A, completing the ensemble towards the west. In terms of scale and presence, the arrangement reinforces the fine-grained character along Asylstrasse towards Kirchmattweg, making an important contribution to the preservation and further development of the townscape.

The historic buildings are clearly integrated into the new spatial order, while their architectural significance is further emphasised. A defining feature shared by all three buildings is their pitched roofscape – an independent and distinctive architectural language that clearly sets the ensemble apart from the new developments along Bahnhofstrasse. The projecting eaves reinforce the buildings’ relationship to the church, whose presence and influence continue to shape the character of the place to this day.