The former Stefanus church in the Utrecht neighbourhood of Overvecht was formerly a place of worship for two church communities, and was converted into a culture house and stage for local cultural organisations two years ago.
It provides accommodation for amateur dramatics, theatre and music organisations. The Stefanus culture house must function as a motor for the neighbourhood and be a symbol for the revitalisation of Overvecht, thanks to its use and its image. The accommodation of a wide range of art institutions and creation of a recognisable meeting point for the neighbourhood were the principles behind the design.
The rectangular patio building gives access to the spaces of the two former church communities on both sides of the entrance gateway, they nowadays house the various cultural organisations. The programme is divided over two layers. The entrance is linked to the patio which borders on a church room. The new use requires more space than that offered by the existing church building. In order to respect the architectonic character of the building and not to disturb the current users during building work, the patio is a logical spot for an ‘inspansion’. The necessary extra space was stacked to form a six storey tower, keeping a space of two metres around the tower from the existing buildings. The programme is divided into an open and closed programme. The programme on the first three layers of the tower has a transparent glass facade which ensures that there are views through the tower from all areas around the patio. The ground floor and first floor are home to the foyer, conference room and sanitary areas. The foyer links and serves the entrance and the large auditorium in the former chapel. The closed programme on the upper floors has a weathering steel facade with a rusty brown oxidised appearance. The second floor has offices and a pantry, while the third floor is home to a music studio. The basis for sound insulation in the studio is a bearing stone type construction with a ‘box in box’ construction inside. There is a rehearsal room for drama groups on the fourth floor and the top floor has a panoramic roof which also serves as a stage for summer activities. The rusty, weathering steel volume protrudes above the patio upstand, its colour relating it to the brown brick volume of the Stefanus, so that old and new go hand in hand and the building as a whole becomes recognisable as a culture house.
