Public – urban spaces for everyone

Ausstellung: Kirchenräume gemeinsam nutzen

On Thursday, 28 May 2026, the BDA Darmstadt will open the exhibition “Sharing Church Spaces” at Johanneskirche in Darmstadt. On display will be student projects from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and Darmstadt Technical University that explore the shared use of church spaces.

They examine how church spaces can be opened up and further developed in the future: as defining features of the urban fabric, as spaces for communal use, and as architectural heritage that is not preserved in a museum but can be re-anchored in everyday life. The church opens at 4 pm. The award ceremony for the BDA Darmstadt 2025 Student Prize will take place at 6.30 pm. This will be followed at 7.30 pm by keynote talks by Karin Berkemann and Arno Klinkenberg; the subsequent discussion will be moderated by Christian Holl.

The exhibition is taking place as part of “Öffentlich”, the BDA Hessen’s contribution to the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026. This is not only about public spaces in the legal sense – streets, parks, squares – but also about spaces that complement those accessible to all with facilities that are otherwise lacking, yet are of great importance for community life. Spaces intended for a specific group or a specific programme, which thus offer safe havens for a community or for defined uses, both indoors and outdoors – for example, churches, kiosks, libraries, parks or sports grounds

Since 1903, the BDA has brought together freelance architects and urban planners who are distinguished not only by the quality of their buildings but also by their high personal integrity and collegiality. The BDA Hessen advocates for open discourse and broad social transparency on all matters relating to construction and the environment. It therefore cooperates with various partners from civil society and academia.