St. Gallen

First Church of Christ Scientist

Building data

Reuse

Status of information

Entry created | 2017/08
Entry last updated | 2024/02

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Further information

This Neoclassical building, featuring an entrance hall surmounted by a pediment, was built in 1924–1925 by Ernst Kuhn. It served as a place of worship for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and housed a public reading room. The ‘Church of Christ, Scientist’ was founded in 1879 in Boston; the movement spread to Germany in 1886, to Zurich in 19 07 and to St Gallen in 1908. Around 15 years ago, the St Gallen congregation moved out of the building; since then, it has been used by the Evangelical Reformed Church for the activities of the ‘Open Church of St Gallen’. Since 2015, the church has been managed by the ecumenical association ‘WirkRaumKirche’, supported by national churches, which aims to be a platform for spiritual, cultural and social projects in the city and region of St Gallen. This association is the successor to the ‘Open Church’ association. Since the summer of 2016, the church façade has been adorned with a graffiti artwork depicting the face of a woman with dark skin. It is a call for openness to the world and for solidarity. “The refugee crisis in Europe is the litmus test for an open society,” says Theodor Pindl, director of the ‘WirkRaumKirche’ association. By 2020 at the latest, the building will have to make way for a new building for the University of St Gallen. The association is therefore already looking for new premises. The church in Saint-Mangen is currently under consideration.

In 2018, the building permit – valid for two years only – for the striking graffiti on the façade expired. However, after much procrastination, it was decided to leave it in place until the building is demolished. The Protestant church in Saint-Mangen had initially been considered as a new site for the ‘WirkRaumKirche’ association. According to a feasibility study, however, an investment of 2.2 million francs would have been required to convert this church, which needed renovation, to meet the requirements of the ‘Open Church’. This is why plans were then made to move into the church in St. Mangen.

For the construction of a second HSG campus, the Canton of St Gallen launched a single-stage, anonymous and open-to-all design competition in 2019, aimed at general planning teams. Of the 59 proposals submitted, the ‘Haus im Park’ project, by Zurich-based architect Pascal Flammer, won first prize. In 2023, the canton unexpectedly halted planning for the winning project. During a review of the project’s progress, the jury noted that it had not developed as intended and that it had shortcomings in terms of space and design compared with the competition entry. For these reasons, it was decided not to proceed with this project and to launch a new call for tenders, scheduled for around mid-2024. This will therefore delay both the demolition and the start of construction work, which are now scheduled for 2028.

Swiss Religious Heritage Day