The City of Aachen is delighted that the traveling exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places" by Baukultur NRW can also be shown in Aachen from Wednesday, April 1, to Wednesday, April 29, in the church of St. Bonifatius, Mataréstraße 12. The exhibition offers the opportunity to come together to discuss how this church site and its surroundings can be presented in the future and also be used for everyday life in Unterforst. Opening hours: Wednesdays to Fridays, 4 to 7 p.m. (closed on Good Friday, April 3). Admission is free.

The district perspective "Future Forst" was developed for the future development of the district of Forst. The mission statement pursues three guiding principles as the strategic orientation of the urban development process: In the middle of Forst I Connecting in the middle I In the middle of greenery. Historically, the churches play an important role as focal points in the Unterforst, Altforst, Forster Linde, Schönforst and Driescher Hof sub-areas. Important institutions and social facilities have settled in their immediate vicinity. Accordingly, the church locations and their surroundings also have the potential today and in the future to be the central places of encounter and social interaction in the neighborhoods.

Touring exhibition by Baukultur NRW
The exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places. Perspectives of Change" by Baukultur NRW focuses on the conversion of sacred buildings that are threatened by vacancy or demolition. In the form of video interviews, the exhibition illustrates the range and diversity of the people involved in the conversion processes and their attitudes. The exhibition also focuses on 27 examples of churches in North Rhine-Westphalia that have already been converted.

Between 30 and 50 percent of church buildings in Germany will be empty in the coming decades. This means that of the approximately 6000 churches in North Rhine-Westphalia, up to 3000 will fall into disuse. The vacancy and demolition of churches is offset by society's need for places for social exchange, community and social identification.

Architecture students present their designs
In addition, architecture students from Aachen University of Applied Sciences and Munich University of Applied Sciences are presenting their student research projects on St. Bonifatius. With different objectives, the students from the respective universities have examined the district, its residents, the church and its surroundings. These designs in the form of plans and models are also on display in the church.

The exhibition will be officially opened on Wednesday, April 1, at 6 pm in the church of St. Boniface under the motto "From sacred space to neighborhood space - What can a hybrid use concept for St. Boniface look like?". Under the moderation of City Planning Councillor Frauke Burgdorff, representatives from the diocese and the parish, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, the City of Aachen's heritage conservation department, local stakeholders and Baukultur NRW will take a look into the future together. As an introduction to the discussion, visitors can look forward to a keynote speech by Dr. Manuela Klauser (TRANSARA sacred space transformation research project) on the topic of "Churches in hybrid use - opportunities and limitations". Afterwards, the exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places" and the students' designs can be viewed.

Extensive accompanying program
As part of the opening on Wednesday, a small film premiere "Wege zur neuen MITTE St. Bonifatius" will also take place. Film producer Bernd Weishaupt has been following the developments around St. Bonifatius and the Zeppelinstraße bunker for some time now. Residents, various stakeholders and representatives of local institutions were interviewed and the redesign of the Zeppelinstraße bunker, street festivals and the development of the Mataréstraße neighborhood garden were filmed.

The exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places" is accompanied by an extensive program. In addition to a jazz evening with the jazz duo "Anirahtak" on Friday, April 10, other highlights such as a garden party with flea market, a table of encounters and wild herb tours by the Mataréstraße garden group are planned. The final event will take place on Wednesday, April 29, at 7.30 p.m. with an author reading led by Willi Achten. In a writing workshop, authors from Aachen have been working on the church of St. Boniface and its surroundings. The program will be accompanied musically by Johanna Schmidt. The evening will be rounded off with a performance by the improvisational theater company "Ohne Ganz" on the theme of "Change, transformation, change, transformation".

Further information about the exhibition: www.aachen.de/ausstellung-bonifatius

Information on the Forst district perspective for the future: www.aachen.de/zukunft-forst  

The program at a glance:

Wednesday, April 1, at 6 p.m.: Kick-off event on "From sacred space to neighborhood space" - What can a hybrid use concept for St. Boniface look like?

• Welcome and introduction to the urban development process "Zukunft Forst" (Felix Hemmers, Baukultur NRW and Christiane Schwarz, City of Aachen)
• Keynote speech ""Churches in hybrid use - opportunities and limits"" (Dr. Manuela Klauser, TRANSARA research project)
• Image film St. Bonifatius (Presentation Bernd Weishaupt)
• Discussion event with: Prof. Heike Matcha and student Louis Kirch (FH Aachen); Bernhard Stenmans (Head of the Department of Building and Monument Conservation, Aachen Diocese); Pastor Goldammer (St. Katharina parish), Sabine Mensger-Jacobs (Neighborhood Representative, City of Aachen); Isabel Maier (Monument Conservation and Archaeology, City of Aachen) and Felix Hemmers (interior designer, curator of the exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places", Baukultur NRW). Moderation: Frauke Burgdorff, City Planning Councillor, City of Aachen
• Introduction to the exhibition "Churches as Fourth Places" and to designs by architecture students (Felix Hemmers, Prof. Heike Matcha, Prof. Dr. Ing. Anke Fissabre / FH Aachen) and the Munich University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Martenson)
  
  

Wednesday, April 8: Guided tour of their designs by architecture students from FH Aachen during opening hours

Friday, April 10, 8 p.m.: Jazz evening with "Anirahtak"

Wednesday, April 15, 4:30 p.m.: Wild herbs tour through the church garden, followed by a tour of their designs by architecture students from Aachen University of Applied Sciences

Friday, April 17, from 3 p.m.: Garden party & flea market. Free to attend, registration not required. (Organizer: City of Aachen)

Wednesday, April 22, 4:30 to 7 p.m.: Tafel der Begegnung - picnic as part of the exhibition. Please bring your own food and crockery; drinks available. (Organizer: City of Aachen)

Friday, April 24, 4.30 p.m.: Wild herbs tour through the church garden; 5.30 p.m.: Guided tour of the Baukultur NRW touring exhibition with Felix Hemmers (curator, Baukultur NRW)

Wednesday, April 29, 7.30 p.m.: Aachen author reading "Über allem das Licht", directed by Willi Achten, followed by improvisational theater "Ohne Ganz"