Pilgrim Forum on the Monastery Square, Mariastein

Project overview

As part of the redesign of the monastery square in Mariastein, an open pavilion was developed to create a sheltered place for gathering, dialogue, and small public events. The structure combines a steel primary frame with a translucent membrane roof and translates an architecturally expressive concept into a precise technical solution.

The pavilion was developed in close dialogue with Atelier Ehrenklau Hemmerling at an early project stage. Its architectural intention was to create an open and atmospheric place of encounter while maintaining a clear structural logic and buildable detailing. The resulting roof combines lightness, transparency, and spatial presence with the robustness required for a permanent outdoor structure.

Details

My involvement began during the early concept phase in an advisory role. Together with the architects, I took part in a workshop process to test different scenarios and to evaluate structural and spatial strategies based on the competition design. Building on this, I developed several solution proposals and prepared a feasibility study in the form of a preliminary design.

The study considered the existing site conditions, including underground service plans and the geotechnical report. It resulted in a use agreement, a project basis, preliminary structural analysis, and principal details for execution. My scope covered the membrane structure, the steel structure, and the foundations. Due to the seismic requirements of the site, particular attention had to be given to the design of the steel system and the foundation concept.

The roof consists of a form-active membrane surface developed through a form-finding process. At the same time, the geometry was partly forced in order to achieve the intended architectural expression. For that reason, the structure required a comparatively high proportion of steel and does not represent a classical ultralight membrane solution in the strict sense. Instead, it is a hybrid system in which membrane architecture and steel engineering are closely interdependent.

A distinctive feature of the project is the visual effect of the roof membrane. A highly translucent PVC-PES architectural fabric was combined with a digitally printed parametric pattern to create a nuanced interaction of light, sky, and depth beneath the canopy.

My role

I played a key role in the early technical development of the pavilion. My work included advisory input during the concept phase, scenario studies, feasibility work, preliminary design, form-finding, preliminary structural analysis, and the development of principal execution details for the membrane, steel structure, and foundations. I also helped define the static concept and the mounting strategy at an early stage, allowing the project team to make informed decisions before entering the execution phase.

As the project evolved and the comparatively high steel content required further specialist input, Alfred Rein Ingenieure GmbH was brought in for the detailed execution planning of the steel structure. At that point, I handed over project management internally and continued to accompany the project in an advisory capacity. In that sense, I supported the project from a high-level strategic perspective and stepped in wherever critical technical decisions and interfaces had to be clarified.

Notes

This project was developed during my time at Bieri Tenta AG. The content presented here reflects my personal contribution to the early design development, feasibility work, and technical concept of the pavilion.