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the director of the Gebetshaus, Anna Philipp and her team from the Philipp Archi-
tekten office created an individual design for every single room. In this way, a mo-
notonous, out-dated commercial property was turned into a place of beauty and
worship brimming with originality. With its large, staggered, differentiated white
cubes, the new building from the second construction phase forms a counterpoint
to the clear, geometrical form of the existing building. That modern wallpaper is not
only suitable for designing interiors is shown by the façade of this building volumes
equipped with lively outdoor wallpaper. Just like the church marks the centre of
classic monastery ensembles, a lively pattern of diamonds marks the central place
of 24-hour worship. The guestrooms with the name “prayer homes” in the white
cubes make temporary stays possible. Similar to a monastery, the Gebetshaus pro-
vides its guests with the opportunity of taking a self-selected time out from their
everyday lives in order to search for the presence of God in prayer and contempla-
tion together with the permanently employed staff, the so-called Gebetshaus mis-
sionaries.

Surprising and unexpected scenarios

Every single prayer home has its own individual design theme. The room design is
based on the images and works of art from which the respective choice of colours is
often extravagantly yet harmoniously derived. The spectrum ranges from the pink,
blue room with a stuffed duck to the sage-green and black room with many wind-
ows all the way to the so-called bishop’s suite in elegant grey with a view of the
mighty treetops of the garden. Each lovingly designed room is definitely worth stay-
ing there. But not only the guestrooms appeal with individuality and, in part, exotic
interior design, in the remaining parts of the building as well, one keeps finding sur-
prising and unexpected scenarios: Thus the way to the rooms leads, for instance,
through the flower hallway with its floor, walls and ceiling decorated with floral mo-
tifs and thus producing a kind of flower tunnel. “Don’t forget to play” is one of the
fundamental values of the facility because, according to Johannes Hartl, listless
grumpiness is already abundant whenever the issue is religion. Something playful, Extravagant, aber harmonisch: das rosa-blaue Zimmer ... • Extravagant but harmonious: the pink-blue room ...
ironic and only half-serious is found in many parts of the Gebetshaus, not least in
the sometimes whimsical decorative objects. The mood is more serious in the cha- ... oder das salbeigrün-schwarze mit vielen Fenstern. • ... or the sage-green and black one with many windows.
pel. The prayer room enveloped in bright gold and white which is filled with lively,
loud prayers all through the day and the night is contrasted with the cube-shaped,
completely black oratory as a place of tranquillity quiet and contemplation. Dark
smoked oak on the floor extends across the choir stalls and up the walls. Centrally
suspended in the room is a large golden crucifix and attracts the attention of the de-
vout. Only a narrow window at the very top of the wall corner allows a thin ray of
light to penetrate the dark room and puts the focus on Christ on the cross. It takes
time, a longer stay, until the eye slowly notices a free structure on the black wall:
Felt flowers in dark grey and blue which loosen up the stringency of the room and
softly frame Jesus painted in gold. A devout place which resembles the holy of holies
and can be read like a contemporarily interpreted quotation of a classic chapel. But
it is merely a quiet island in the middle of the Gebetshaus which elsewhere brims
over with life. This is because it is precisely not only about silent contemplation here
but also about communion and togetherness.

A place far from monastic tranquillity

The hub of the Gebetshaus is therefore where all the internal ways cross and which
consists of the foyer and an elegant café. Hundreds of light bulbs are suspended from
the ceiling at different heights. An endless long counter of exposed concrete is the
classic reception for the guests; this counter extends seamlessly through the whole
room and thus also serves as the counter of the café. In the centre of the café stands
a massive oak table cleverly decorated with colourful E15 spotlights which immerse
the room in warm and cosy light and, at the same time, animate to gather convivi-
ally. The complete back wall of the café is covered with mosaic tiles and, together
with a long seating bench in front of it, it is the attractive backdrop for small café ta-
bles with integrated little lamps with shades. A place which is far from monastic
tranquillity but which produces a setting for relaxed encounters. Hardly ever do the
toilets get mentioned when the architecture of a building is being described, and cer-
tainly not at all when the subject is such a sacral complex. In the case of the Gebets-

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