CORP – Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning
Abstract
In Europe Church congregations facing a challenge to find re-uses for their church buildings. Based on a rising lack of members and financial incomes, which are needed for the maintenance of their buildings. Due to this financial critical situation, new usages and users must be found. On the one hand the re-use is a cultural question touching many aspects of heritage and community value, but on the other hand it is certainly facing the real estate market. Buildings are often in a very central location, which is suitable for usages, which demand a high number of customers. Re-use means also that the conversion has an enormous impact in the building structure and asks usually for an enormous investment. Besides the physical task how to handle the building, the way how it becomes reused is various. Different usages like community-based solutions, mixes usages can also be found like commercial or residential reuse. The solutions are mainly based on the building type of the church, on the financial possibilities of the owner but also on the location
