Glass façade of the Busmann chapel now fitted

The memorial for the St. Sophia Church in Dresden, a state-of-the-art three-dimensional reproduction of the Busmann chapel, has now been given its glass protective cover. The slightly abstracted concrete element cubature of the Busmann chapel covers a base area of 22 by 12 metres and is enclosed by solid roof on four steel stanchions and a highly transparent glass façade.

In the Zwinger-facing extension of the Busmann chapel's cubature, paving stones and single concrete columns clearly show St. Sophia's ground plan and former buttresses. A number of original stones from the window surrounds as well as corbel stones with a portrait of Busmann, the benefactor, and his wife have been inserted into the reconstructed spatial shell of the Busmann chapel. After the bombing of Dresden and before the ruins of St. Sophia Church were demolished, dedicated citizens cared for the stones which were stored in the stone collection of the Zion Church.

The cover of the memorial, which was originally planned as a glazed steel beam construction, has now been realised as a load bearing glass construction. This involved fitting 18 glass carriers spanning the 14 metre high façade and bearing the 3 by 4.4 metre façade panes. Both the glass carrier connections and the glued-on glass frame construction presented particular engineering challenges to the planning and assembly of façade. The "glasfaktor Ingenieure" engineering company successfully took responsibility for the statics, planning and approval of the façade construction.

The interior design of the memorial still needs to be completed. Alongside the sandstone floor and the retrieved historical ledgers, there is a folded steel spiral staircase leading from the cellar to the ground floor and the glazed venue gallery. The glass cover has two entrances, one facing Neumarkt and the other Postplatz. In future, the memorial should be open daily from Easter to Reformation Day, and for special events in the winter.