Building the Church – Future and Community in Bochum
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Building the Church: Ideas for the Future in a Sacred Atmosphere
Where once services were celebrated, a space opens today for new perspectives: The exhibition Building the Church – Culture House Ruhr invites you to the Christ-King Church in Bochum. Between striking spatial proportions, light, materiality, and history, a special experience of faith beyond classical liturgy emerges – as a reflective encounter with architecture, memory, and societal future.
Reimagining Church Spaces
30 architecture graduates from TU Dortmund present their master's theses on the repurposing of five churches in the Ruhr area. Plans, models, and visualizations show how former or functionally threatened sacred buildings can become new places for movement, art, knowledge, and encounter.
Between Prayer, Memory, and Construction Culture
The Christ-King Church has not been used for services since 1998. Its unique atmosphere is still palpable: The nave, the materials, and the incoming light serve as the starting point for designs that preserve and simultaneously develop the character of the existing structure. The exhibition connects religious experience, construction culture, and societal dialogue.
From Studios to Libraries
The presented concepts range from studios beneath vaults and movement spaces in the former nave to baths, stages, libraries, and walkable data centers. The focus is on the principle of building on: Existing architecture is not simply replaced but is carefully read, supplemented, and opened up for new forms of communal life.
Exhibition Overview
The exhibition is open on Sunday, November 8, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission is free. Visitors experience an exhibition that connects questions about the future of churches, the value of sacred spaces, and new forms of community.
Conclusion: The exhibition offers an impressive religious and architectural experience in an extraordinary church space in Bochum. Those interested in spirituality, architecture, urban society, and the future of church places will discover inspiring ideas for building on in the Ruhr area.
