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03/28/2022 - New work under the church vault

No pulpit, no pews - instead 65 modern workplaces and a cozy coffee kitchen: In the middle of the pretty old town of Constance, the young consulting and project agency Gründerschiff UG & Co. KG has carefully transformed the former church of St. Johann into a co-working space. At the heart of the extraordinary office space are two room-in-room systems from the Dauphin brand Bosse.

Anyone who decides to work in St. Johann is right in the middle: within sight of Constance Cathedral, the coworking space operator, Gründerschiff UG & Co. KG, shares the historic building in Constance’s oldest district, Niederburg, with two restaurants, a ballet school and Residential units on the upper floor.

For many years, services have not been held in the church, which was founded in the 10th century. "Actually, St. Johann was doomed to demolition because of its once unfavorable location," says Moritz Meidert, co-founder of Gründerschiff. However, the brewery family, which bought the building in the 19th century, did not comply with the city's demolition intentions and only had the tower removed in order to use the stones for the construction of a beer cellar. Since then, St. Johann has been missing its characteristic bell tower - but beautifully preserved vaults, columns and windows still clearly show the origin of the more than 1,000-year-old building and give the coworking space a very special flair.

St. Johann had been repurposed time and again in its recent past: the church was transformed from a brewery into a respectable clubhouse and hotel, later lavish carnival celebrations took place in the nave. Coworkers from a wide variety of industries are now sitting under the colorful stained glass windows on 650 square meters.

Possibility of retreat in the Bosse cube 4.0

The heart of the modern coworking space on the ground floor is formed by two large Bosse Cubes 4.0 black. They impressed with their building-independent installation options and acoustic properties and now, as offices for long-term rent, represent an excellent addition to the workplaces on the upper floor that can be booked by the day or month, as coworking space operator Moritz Meidert explains. Thanks to the unique ventilation system of the Bosse room-in-room solutions, workers outside of the cube are not disturbed by ventilation noises, even when used at maximum level. On request, all Bosse Cubes can also be equipped with the ION-Cloud ventilation tool, which uses minus ions to render viruses, bacteria, fine dust or pollen in the air harmless and contributes to well-being.

Fitted exactly between the columns

In Constance, value was also placed on the visually appealing ceiling of the cubes, which can be clearly seen from the galleries. Thanks to individual configuration, it was possible to fit the two glass room-in-room systems exactly between the columns in the nave. Despite the challenging initial spatial conditions, the Bosse Cubes were the ideal acoustic solution, adds Michael Ortmann, Managing Director of the responsible planning company Office Vision GmbH and the lead fitter Meinlschmidt Raumkonzepte GmbH. "The coworking space in St. Johann is a very exciting and emotional project," says the managing director and senior expert for new work. "We were standing in front of a high, listed room, which presented a challenge, especially acoustically. The aim was to retain the character of the church while still bringing cosiness into the rooms.”

Another important aspect in the planning was the preservation of a certain flexibility. The open work areas on the ground floor can be easily converted into meeting rooms. In addition, St. Johann New Work & Innovation is not just about work: on weekends, the open-plan ground floor can be used as a stage for cultural events.

With insulating materials, carpeted floors, floor-length curtains, sound-absorbing wall panels and the room-in-room systems as a place of retreat, the demanding balancing act between monument protection and workplace regulations has been achieved in a unique coworking space. The two matt black Bosse Cubes form an exciting visual contrast to the columns, vaults and high windows of the former St. Johann church. "An absolute enrichment for Constance", says project manager Michael Ortmann.

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