A wave of churches looking for new congregations or uses is coming, primarily due to the mergers and closings under the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo’s Journey in Faith and Grace restructuring effort. Adaptive reuse of a church is expensive and difficult, though not impossible. Examples of successful transformations are available locally and worldwide. Buffalo has seen former churches turned into condos (on Richmond), manuscript museums (Porter and North), lofts (Parkside Avenue), performance spaces (Main, Delaware and Richmond), offices (Elmwood) and a community center/school (Genesee). In Amsterdam, a former church has undergone a stunning conversion to a bookstore.
Dutch architects Merkx + Girod won the 2007 Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize for their Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht – a chain bookstore inside an 800-year old former church. Architects were challenged to respect the original use and nature of the structure while creating enough commercial space for a viable business.
The prize jury said: “Merkx + Girod architects have created a contemporary bookshop in a former Dominican church, preserving the unique landmark setting. The church has been restored to its former glory and the utilities equipment has been housed in the extended cellar.”
“In order to preserve the character of the church while achieving the desired commercial square footage, the architects erected a two-storey structure in black steel on one side, where the books are kept. Keeping the shop arrangement on the other side low created a clear and decipherable shop. The jury was very impressed by these spatial solutions, as well as by the gorgeous lighting plan. The combination of book complex and church interior were deemed particularly successful.”
Costas Voyatzis on his blog ‘yatzer’ has more:
Merkx+Girod architects were asked by the Dutch booksellers Selexyz to convert the interior of the former Dominican Church in Maastricht into a modern bookstore. For the same client M+G had previously designed two bookstores in the cities of The hague and Almere. The unique location in Maastricht however asked for a very different approach.
The store demanded 1.200 square meters of commercial area where only 750 were available. The initial idea of the client to install a second floor within the church was rejected by the designers, because this would completely destroy the spatial qualities of the church. The solution was found in the creation of monumental walk-in bookcase spanning several floors and situated a-symmetrically in the church. In doing so the left side of the church remained empty while on the other side customers are lead upstairs in the three storey ‘Bookflat.’ Climbing thus becomes an experience and the reward lies in the close encounter with the ancient murals and stunning views. The ‘bookflat’ is a clear contemporary gesture, an independent statement, that also pays homage to the monumental church.
The groundfloor gives room to several different book displays, information desks, magazine stands and cash registers, all made of standard sheet materials in different colours and surfaces. The former altar now houses the ‘Coffeelovers’ café with a large central reading table shaped as a cross.
The Buffalo diocese has strict rules for the rental or sale of former churches and frowns upon commercial reuse such as retail, restaurants or entertainment. In addition, most if not all of the vacated churches are in neighborhoods with poor demographics or outside of proven commercial areas. Theoretically speaking then, would a bookstore be sacrilegious or a savior? How about a library?
Photos by Coolhunter.net
More photos on Flickr by Dwcama
