Carmody Groarke wins contest to design German theological colleges

Carmody Groarke has won a design competition for a pair of theological colleges in southern Germany.

The project will see a derelict 1960s office building renovated and extended to create 38,000sq m of space for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.

Carmody Groarke’s winning entry was developed with German practice Riehle & Assoziierte.

It is the London architect’s second big European win this autumn. Carmody Groarke was also picked to design a new building for Ghent’s design museum.

The latest competition, for a site close to the historic centre of Nuremberg, involves a brutalist tower and podium building that was part of the city’s extensive post-war reconstruction.

It takes up an entire city block and its imposing and impenetrable form marks an abrupt change from the medieval walled city around it.

The building will be remodelled to provide space for two independent theological colleges, regional administration and congressional facilities for the synod of Bavaria, a 100-room student hostel, a nursery and a public chapel.

At the same time a public square will be created at the centre of the development, linked to new pedestrian routes through the perimeter.

Kevin Carmody, founding director at Carmody Groarke, said the aim was to present the church to the surrounding city as an outward-facing and welcoming institution.

He added: “We were inspired by the Bavarian Evangelical Church’s vision to retain, extend and creatively repurpose their existing building, reducing the environmental impact of the development while creating a dynamic, new institution within the city of Nuremberg.

“Our project seeks to improve the connection between the church and the city. While retaining as much of the existing building as we can, we are renovating those parts of the structure which are no longer fit for purpose and are adding new structures to improve how the institution can work organisationally and environmentally.”

The environmental performance and aesthetics of the original building will be improved by replacing the dilapidated precast-concrete wall panels with new lightweight timber structures, horizontally extending the useable area of the existing building by 10,000sq.