The Protestant church in Middenbeemster was built between 1612 and 1621 by renowned Amsterdam architect Hendrick de Keyzer and is a well-maintained example for Dutch Renaissance architecture in Noord-Holland. The interior has additions from the Baroque and Classicist period.
The new altar adds to this stylistic plurality a contemporary dimension. A gentle folded, white surface reminiscent of a tablecloth brings its corners together by articulating a table plane with four segments, reflecting the floor plan proportions of the church of 2:1. The narrow gaps in-between the segments, a void, forms a subtle cross figure. The object is made of acryl.
Part of the ensemble is a candle holder made of massive brass and an antependium made of felt by Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra.
Altar, candleholder, antependium
Design and execution drawings
Protestantse Gemeente Beemster
Olaf Gipser, Volker Ulrich, Stefan Vetsch
CoproNed (altar)
Olaf Gipser Architects, VURB Architects
Claudy Jongstra