2022

St. John’s Catholic Church, Weinfelden

Working with what’s already there and creating a cheerful tranquility by setting new accents

Beside lush gold, delicate pastels, and playful details, the neo-Baroque space also offers more modern aspects like the strikingly patterned tiled floor. By choosing materials like the Rosa Portagallo marble that was used for the altar, the baptismal font, and the votive candle rack, the new furnishings combine these elements in a unique way without taking the foreground. The slender pillars of the historic church altars inspired me to use thin columns as a leitmotif in all the furnishings, sometimes lacquered, sometimes left in their original oak. The colors of the textiles take on different functions. They define action spaces, as in the carpets that set the altar and other elements apart from the flooring, or they provide a sense of coziness as in the family space at the back of the church. Alternatively, they can make a figure stand out more prominently, like the screen in the Marian niche. 

Client: Pfarrei St. Johannes Weinfelden
Architects: Büchel Neubig Architekten, Weinfelden
Stone masonry: Hotz Bildhauer, Weinfelden
Carpentry: Kasper AG Schreinerei, Weinfelden
Metal objects: Kunstgiesserei, St. Gallen
Upholstery: Polster Factory, Amriswil
Liturgical textiles: Paramentenwerkstatt Kloster Fahr
Photo: Frédéric Dedelley, Zürich

Insights