Fair-faced concrete is "en vogue" – especially when theharmonious"symbiosis"of historic building fabric and modern, contemporary architecture is involved. A current example of the successful linking of tradition and modernity is the new community centre at the Philipp Nicolai church in Hagen/Germany. The concept, developed by Bathe + Reber Architekten, conciliates old and new structures and geometries with one another in such a way that a uniform new building complex results, without the old building sacrificing its autonomy. In order to achieve a coherent "dialogue" of the fair-faced concrete surfaces of the new community centre with the old sandstone facades of the church, in addition to detailed planning, comprehensive concrete technology and structural engineering know-how was called for – especially for the selection of the appropriate concrete formula.