MTD landscape architects is working in collaboration with De twee Snoeken architecten on a master plan for the redevelopment of the area around the Gerarduskerk in Gemert. Housing corporation Goed Wonen has the ambition to develop the area into a new green residential area, where the church will be given a new purpose.
The Gerardus Majella Church, as the church is fully called, is centrally located in the village center of Gemert. The church is located north of the Rips, an old peat river that originally ran from the high moor of the Peel to the lower Aa valley, and is still part of the village fabric of Gemert.
The sturdy church building with free-standing tower dates from 1957. It was designed by architect Jan de Jong in Bossche School style as a large covered square where the parish community could gather.
In the early 1980s, this new Gemert church turned out to be too big again. The church space was reduced in size with the indoor establishment of houses and a library. With the recent disappearance of the library and the completely disused church, a new interpretation is now being sought. Not only the redevelopment of the church is studied, but also the potential that a transformation of the immediate environment of the church can offer; the square in front of the church, the adjacent shopping street, the cemetery and De Rips offer opportunities to transform the surroundings of the church into a coherent and green park area with De Rips as a historical and green / blue carrier.
