Catholic Parish Church St. Michael

The cubic structure of the St. Michael Church with elevation above the altar and a freestanding square bell tower is accompanied by terraced parish buildings. The outer appearance of the reinforced concrete skeleton ensemble is dominated by their façade cladding with exposed concrete slabs. In the square-shaped main church, horizontal courses of wider and narrower slabs with visible wood pattern from the formwork alternate, while the pattern is pointing in different directions. Just before the top edge, the building is encircled by a band of windows that is designed as a concrete and glass mosaic. The Lady Chapel, on the other hand, which can be accessed via a side aisle, is entirely covered with equal-sized slabs with horizontal formwork pattern. Inside, the building material of exposed concrete, found for example on the coffered ceilings, is joined by brick cladding on the walls. To reduce sound reflection, small hanging pyramids were used on the ceilings and sound chambers in some places of the brick masonry. Werner Groh's church was the first new Catholic church built in Karlsruhe after the Second Vatican Council. The interior is organized accordingly: the nave, which is diagonally aligned with the altar, allows a good view of the liturgical events from all 660 seats thanks to a slope running down to it.