WELCOME CENTER

The Welcome Centre in Gernrode welcomes its visitors with a spacious, square forecourt framed by retaining walls and cherry trees. The collegiate church rises above the square as a sublime solitaire on the hill, whose presence can be experienced from the large and small surrounding terraces. The foyer of the centre opens wide onto the forecourt, creating an inviting gesture that leads visitors directly into the exhibition. The tour, which provides information about the Holy Sepulchre and the Romanesque Road, is designed as a flowing experience and can be atmospherically staged using daylight, skylights or targeted artificial lighting. The rough texture of the precast concrete elements echoes the materiality of the existing church wall and the collegiate church, without denying their serial character. Inside, the light, sand-coloured concrete, enriched with regional additives, creates a subtle connection to the surrounding landscape, into which the building volume is carefully integrated. The façade of the centre, made of rough precast concrete elements, echoes the materiality of the existing church wall and the collegiate church. Nevertheless, it blends independently into the historical ensemble.