Continuing to Build the Church – Future Ideas at Christ the King Church Bochum
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
Continuing to Build the Church: Future Ideas for Sacred Spaces in Bochum
Where services were once held, a space opens up for new questions, encounters, and visions: The exhibition Continuing to Build the Church – Culture House Ruhr invites visitors to reflect on the future of church buildings at the Christ the King Church in Bochum. On Sunday, December 6, 2026, visitors will experience an exhibition that connects architecture, spirituality, cultural memory, and social responsibility.
A Faith Experience Between History and Future
The Christ the King Church at Steinring has a special history. Since 1998, it has no longer been used for services, yet it has proven itself as a significant place for art, culture, and public debates. Its spatial proportions, the incoming light, the materiality, and the quiet atmosphere form the starting point for a religious and societal engagement with continuing to build.
The exhibition focuses on churches as places of shared memory and potential new community. The emphasis is not on loss, but on the question of how sacred spaces can maintain their identity while taking on new roles for people in the Ruhr area.
30 Master's Theses from TU Dortmund
About 30 architecture graduates from TU Dortmund will present plans, models, and visualizations. The focus is on five churches in Essen, Bochum, and Wattenscheid that are no longer or will not in the future be used for services. The designs explore how new places for movement, art, knowledge, encounter, and digitality can emerge from existing churches.
The spectrum ranges from studios under vaults and movement spaces in the nave to libraries, stages, baths, and walk-in data centers. The works follow the principle of re-culturing: existing buildings are not viewed as empty shells, but as valuable spatial resources with history, atmosphere, and societal potential.
Architecture as a Spiritual and Social Question
The exhibition combines architectural expertise with a profound question about the significance of shared spaces. Churches shape the religious experience of many generations through their silence, height, light design, and liturgical past. The concepts presented ask how these qualities can continue to resonate in new uses.
Visitors encounter an exhibition that invites pause and exchange. Between models and visualizations, space is created for personal memories, theological discussions, and the collective search for a responsible future for churches in the Ruhr area.
Opening Hours and Admission
The exhibition is open on Sunday, December 6, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission is free during the entire duration. The exhibition can be visited without special prerequisites and is aimed at believers, architecture enthusiasts, culture lovers, and everyone interested in the future of public spaces.
Conclusion: Seeing a Special Place Anew
Continuing to Build the Church – Culture House Ruhr opens an impressive dialogue between religious past, architectural present, and societal future. Those who experience the Christ the King Church live on December 6 will discover models, ideas, and spaces that show how new places for community can emerge from the existing.
