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The AIA Interfaith Design (ID) Knowledge Community encourages and supports excellence in the design of worship spaces and their accoutrements. Interfaith Design is an association of professionals whose primary interest is religious facilities in a broad array of traditions. We value an interfaith forum for the exchange of ideas relating to religion, art, and architecture. Join us!

  • 1.  Declining houses of worship

    Posted 05-18-2022 11:36 AM

    My newest piece, "Converting and Reusing Declining Houses of Worship for Community Benefit," from National Civic Review, journal of the National Civic League, the pre-eminent guardian of civic engagement in the U.S….Rick

     "...failing Christian churches, seeking inspiration, often ask the question WWJD? (What would Jesus do?) when they

    should be asking the more relevant question WWJJD (What would Jane Jacobs do?) about the houses of worship's

    underused real estate."

     https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/ncr-article/converting-and-reusing-declining-houses-of-worship-for-community-benefit/ 

     



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    Richard Reinhard
    Lakelands Institute
    Rockville MD
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  • 2.  RE: Declining houses of worship

    Posted 05-18-2022 10:59 PM
    Excellent and insightful article Mr. Reinhard! You clearly identify many of the real estate/facility challenges facing many churches today and provide a helpful roadmap in navigating what can be a very complicated set of circumstances. Thank you!

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    Stephen Pickard FAIA
    GFF
    Dallas TX
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Declining houses of worship

    Posted 05-19-2022 12:09 PM
    Next is an article titled WWJD--What Would Jane Jacobs Do?  Jacobs' book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, cites four factors in producing a successful city:  mixed use, short blocks (i.e., walkability), old buildings, and density.  Most houses of worship only exhibit one of the four (old buildings) and strike out on the other three pitches.

    We desperately need architects (and landscape architects) to develop a new model for a mixed-use, walkable (no fences, no stretches of bare walls and locked doors, no empty parking lots), high-density houses of worship.  A new model!

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    Richard Reinhard
    Lakelands Institute
    Rockville MD
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Declining houses of worship

    Posted 05-23-2022 11:06 AM
    Richard,
    You mentioned "no fences, bare walls, or locked doors" to allow more livable cities.  Having travelled in several Latin American and other countries, I've seen a lot of those for purposes of security from theft and violence.  These are countries with small middle classes and very evident poverty.  If the U.S. doesn't turn back the 40+ year growing tide of our wealth gap, we can expect more gated communities, more security walls, and less walkability around our Cities.

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    Russell Ver Ploeg [AIA, LEED AP]
    Ver Ploeg Architecture
    Des Moines IAAIA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Declining houses of worship

    Posted 05-27-2022 06:30 PM

    Thank you, Richard. This article was not only informative but also actionable with "The 8 actions a faith institution and a municipality or community can take to prepare for the oncoming glut of struggling houses of worship." Each market is different and what works for one may not work for another. It comes down to finding a unique approach that's best for each house of worship and their community. At the same time, the unifying factor is that everyone will be affected by the foundational changes that are taking place across the country when it comes to how people worship. From big cities to small towns, everyone will be affected in one or another. Working together, let's find a great solution.

    Douglas Hanson AIA, NOMA

    President

    hansonla.com



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    Douglas Hanson AIA
    HansonLA architecture and design
    Marina Del Rey CA
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    Original Message