Monument! What shapes us, what we want, what we are grateful for
27. Jan. 2025 / Campus Living
I am looking forward to the publication of our new chronicle! It will be a document that not only documents historical data, stories and pictures, but also bears witness to how Friedensau's history is being told now – in 2024. Our campus and the buildings that the founding fathers planned and erected also fulfill this function. As a monument to buildings and areas, they are now also an impetus for the public to reflect on our way of expressing faith in a holistic way.
As part of the planning for the new student hall of residence, we had to wrest the building site from the State Monuments Office, because from their point of view, the "orchard meadow" on which the building is to be erected was part of the parkland - even though greenhouses stood on the site until 1999 and there was no park there before. Thinking about how we, as an institution of the Adventist Church, maintain the "Friedensau Monument", I have once again realized how up-to-date our Adventist health doctrine, which has been known in Germany for 150 years, is: We want to develop our campus in the same way that the young Adventist Church in 1899 realized its view of a healthy life in facilities and buildings. These health principles historically include eight (today twelve) points: Diet, exercise, water, sun and nature, temperance, air, rest and trust (in God).[1] These points are reflected in the location and layout of our current residence planning.
The location of the building near the Ihle river offers direct contact with the water, and the design and orientation are intended to bring light (sun) and air into the building in a generous way, particularly via the pergola. The inner courtyard design also serves this purpose, making the residential units brighter and incorporating the theme of nature here through the possibility of gardening, with the historical reference to the old nursery that used to stand there. The distance to other buildings, such as the guest house, is intended to provide separation and tranquillity for the other groups of students and guests. The same considerations were taken into account when dispensing with a central corridor plan, which was developed as the most efficient way to access rooms in barracks, but which leads to more noise and less light and air. A student lounge is intended to provide space for meetings and prayer.
Of course, the building will be "a child of our time": photovoltaics for energy generation, façades in modern building materials and sustainable construction will represent how building is understood in the 21st century.
EUR 250,000 is defined as the fundraising target in our financing concept. This is 10 percent of the amount with which the state of Saxony-Anhalt will support us - once the documents we submitted on time on November 29, 2024 have been reviewed and the funding decision is issued accordingly at the end of February 2025. We ask you, we ask you to support Friedensau with a donation for the new student residence. This is the important tenth part. We also ask for your prayers that our campus will receive another witness of faith: a new dormitory. Thank you for your support (Text: Tobias H. Koch, Chancellor).
[1] cf. https://dvg-online.de/12-prinzipien/
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