The objective of this 2011 competition was to design a new parish building in the small village of Erl/Tyrol, Austria. With its slowly developed structure and clearly defined center — the church, the cemetery, and the subsidiary building — a solitaire created as a symbol for the duality of the sacred and the secular.
The correlation between the different areas formed the basic idea for this project. The view from different rooms outside and the flexible walls between the foyer, hall, and garden allow people to create different atmospheres. The option of combining the function room with the garden, or pulling the bar outside for various festivities, or using the three apartments upstairs for different needs — all of these flexible functions cater to the current requirements of the community of Erl.
On the one side there is the sacral building surrounded by the cemetery; a place for quiet reflection, and on the other hand there is the new parish courtyard; a vibrant, communal space for living, meeting, and sharing everyday life. The facade of the new polygonal building is copper, which assimilates into the rooftop of the existing church. As such, the new building complements the church in form, material, and function.