192 Built examples
The chapel stands at the border formerly
separating West from East Berlin, on the
site of the former neo-Gothic Church of
Reconciliation, which was demolished by
the then East German government. The
interior is of oval shape, and is delimited
by a rammed earth wall 7.2 m in height
and 0.6 m in thickness. The roof and outer
shell, formed by vertical wooden strips,
represents a second oval that is eccentrically
configured in relation to the first.
The rammed earth wall contains large frag-
ments of broken brick from the former
church, as well as gravel, which together
constitutes 55% of the material. The clay
content is only 4%. This coarse-grained mix-
ture, with a minimal moisture content of
8.1%, reduces material shrinkage to only
0.15 %. With a humidity level of 50 % and
a temperature of 20°C, the equilibrium
moisture content of the loam is 0.7 %.
The admixture of flax fibres and intensive
compaction with a tamping roller was
able to produce a compressive strength of
3.2 N/mm^2 (measured with 20 x 20 x 20 cm
cubes). The constantly changing radius of
curvature required the use of an intricate
special formwork.Chapel of Reconciliation, Berlin, Germany
Germany
Architects: Reitermann + Sassenroth, Berlin,
Germany
Completed: 2000
Area: 315 m^2