studio Donna van Milligen Bielke

Project: From church to square
Client:  municipality Son & Breugel
Program: Community house
Location: Son
Team: Studio Donna van Milligen Bielke & Ard de Vries Architects
i.c.w. Nico de Bont
status: preliminary design
model: Fluke concrete

The Petrus Banden church was built in the post-war period in a spatial ensemble with the town hall around the Townhall square on the churchsquare. The pre-war city structure has been destroyed, we want to emphasize the valuable history of the place.

The Sint Petrus’ banden church only showed its interior quality when you were inside. Visibility is crucial for a theater and a library. By opening the façade at strategic places, the interior intertwines with the public space and ensures that the function becomes visible from outside.

The old Churchstreet is revived by making a look through the building. Outside a new plinth is an announcement of what is happening inside. There are niches in the facade so that you can sit with your back against the church on the square.

With a series of squares, the public space from the city extends into the building. The foyer of the theater is a common square where the theater café is located. The reading tables and the media square of the library also connect to the foyer. The freely accessible theater hall is placed in the heart of the squares. On the left above the staircase stand is the library square and on the right is the square of harmony with the rehearsal rooms.

The stairs around the building lifts the building from the square. The staircase at the cafe, can be closed with a large curtain to turn it into an intimate little theater hall. The stairs at the side near the library can be used for reading, but this can also be closed for a small reading.

In the church there will be an object-like piece of furniture that houses the theater hall. From the outside this object functions as a bookcase. Books on the outside theater in the inside.