Schneider+Schumacher's church based on motorway signage looks like Batman
A motorway sign symbol of a church was translated directly into the structure of this roadside chapel on the outskirts of Wilnsdorf, Germany, by Frankfurt architects Schneider+Schumacher (+ slideshow).
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_1.jpg)
The design for Siegerland Motorway Church was Schneider+Schumacher's winning entry to a competition seeking proposals for a chapel to be built on a site overlooking a busy motorway and surrounded by a hotel, petrol station and fast-food restaurant.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_20.jpg)
The building's form draws on the visual language of its environs – particularly the standard icon used to depict a church on Germany's road signs.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_9.jpg)
This stylised image is visible on two facades on either side of a square nave, which transitions into a long sloping walkway leading to the entrance.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_18.jpg)
"Whether approached from afar from the Dortmund direction, or from the motorway service area, the church represents a built version of the motorway church signage," explained architect Michael Schumacher. "Even though its exterior form is abstract, it still signals in an immediate and direct way, 'I am a church!'"
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_17.jpg)
In a video describing the design process, Schumacher claims the abstract form also suggests other shapes, such as the folded paper of Japanese origami or the pointed ears worn by comic-book character Batman.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_19.jpg)
The timber structure of the outer walls was assembled from elements produced off site and incorporates laminated timber sections providing extra strength to the roof and towers.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_4.jpg)
Following assembly, the whole of the church and the entrance passage were sprayed with a white polyurethane damp-proofing material that unifies the faceted surfaces.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_3.jpg)
Windows on one side of the pointed spire-like towers draw natural light into a nave that features an organic cave-like structure, contrasting with the building's geometric outer shell.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_6.jpg)
"The interior was meant to come as a surprise, contrary to the expectations raised by the exterior," said Schumacher. "The exterior is abstract; the interior is warm, friendly, magical and sacred, transporting you to a different world."
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_7.jpg)
A structure made from 66 wooden ribs, developed using parametric computer modelling software, opens up from the entrance to create a high-vaulted dome above the altar.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_5.jpg)
The individual parts required to build the framework were optimally positioned on sheets of chipboard to minimise waste during the cutting process.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_15.jpg)
The wooden shapes slot together to create a rigid and self-supporting structure, which conceals the sacristy and storage spaces in gaps around its curved edges.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_16.jpg)
Oriented strand board - a type of engineered chipboard - was used for interior furnishings including simple boxy stools, a lectern and a candle stand.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_12.jpg)
Daylight from the windows is focused on the altar, podium and cross, which are painted white to give them an ethereal appearance.
![Church by Schneider+Schumacher based on motorway signage looks like Batman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Siegerland-Motorway-Church_dezeen_8.jpg)
Artificial lighting is hidden behind the latticed wooden structure and is designed to illuminate the space in the same way as the natural light that filters through the structure.