Due to the arrival of families in the new housing developments, the working-class Berg district became an independent parish in 1963. The rectangular plot of the church appears somewhat isolated among the parcels. Jansen and Schiltz reduced the building’s form to its essence: a box with four blind walls in concrete blocks. The floor is covered in fixed carpeting and slopes slightly, which improves visibility and perspectively brings the wall behind the altar closer. Within the four walls: a new wall, this time made of light. The zenith glazing runs completely around so that the flat roof appears to float above the walls. This roof is supported by seven prefabricated concrete beams with a span of 20 m. These beams are prominently visible in the interior, while the supports are only visible as buttresses on the exterior. Above the beams, the buttresses are no longer necessary, and the wall can even be interrupted by narrow windows. In the southwest corner, at the hall, a block has been removed from the box shape, making the construction with its beams and angled glass visible from the outside. The originally planned tower was replaced by a concrete wall that stands separate from the church. The bell is installed between the church and the concrete wall, which features a cut-out cross shape. The patio, visible through a large window behind the altar, never progressed beyond preliminary design. In the southern section of the box, we find the hall, sacristy, confessionals, heating system, and storage. The concrete floor slab of the meeting room on the first floor is detached from the walls on two sides.
‘Architecture in the Golden Sixties – The Turnhout School, Lannoo Campus, 2012’.
