The Reuse of Church Buildings
The history and possibilities in the Netherlands and Belgium
E.J.M. Heemskerk (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
I. Nevzgodin – Mentor (TU Delft - Heritage & Architecture)
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Abstract
Churches are one of the most important features of the Dutch townscape. They were the cultural hub of the town for a long time. The 20th century marked the start of a societal change: ontkerkelijking. More and more churches are becoming vacant in the Netherlands and Belgium. These buildings can be reused, and the past can help us. The research question is as follows: “How have churches been reused in the past 30 years in the Netherlands and Belgium?”.
This question will be answered by analysing five case studies in the Netherlands and Belgium. First, the history and the new design of the churches will be introduced. Then, a short history of restoration and conservation will be given. The five adaptive reuse approaches, as composed by Plevoets & Van Cleempoel (2019), will be discussed. These approaches will be linked to the case studies. Lastly, a spatial analysis of the case studies will be done. These analyses show that churches with a new social function tend to be designed with a circular approach and have kept more of the spatial qualities of the original church building. However, all case studies have been designed with the history of the building in mind.