Conversion of the Church of Our Lady in Dortmund into a Columbarium

Church conversions allow for the longterm sustainable use of these buildings, preserving our cultural heritage for future generations despite dwindling parishes. The rededication of the Church of Our Lady in Dortmund as a columbarium not only involved a change in use, but also represented a demanding task in terms of architectural and monument conservation. For the Dortmund church, built in 1883 and featuring a 74metre spire that dominates the innercity skyline, the task was to convert the building into a burial place holding some 4,000 cinerary urns. Our planning had to take into consideration both the question of creating an appropriate setting for the rituals associated with urn burial as well as how to handle the existing church interior.

The proposal of arranging all burial urns across the surface of the church floor is a simple and successful response to these two foremost concerns. The cemetery-like layout of the field of urns evokes an analogy with traditional burials in the ground. Positioning the cinerary urn on the floor echoes the ritual of burial, by which the corpse is returned to the earth, symbolising the cycle of life and death. At the same time, because the urns are installed only 80 cm above the church floor, reminiscent of the familiar pews or chairs otherwise found there, the existing church interior can still unfold its full spatial and atmospheric dimensions. The urn holders and platforms are made of construction bronze. The slight corrosion displayed by this material underscores the earth-bound quality of the installation. Various types of tomb slab allow for personalised decoration of the burial place with flowers, pictures, candles or engravings. Usable floor area 1,400 sqm Site area 2,500 sqm