The 100-year-old church will transform into a pool. The project gained the name “holy water”

Competition for the development of the 100-year-old church of St. Francis of Assisi was won by the architectural studios MVRDV and Zecc Architecten. The winning project was with a grain of eye with the name “Holy Water”, or “holy water”.

Netherlands. In Heerlen, the church will turn into a pool

The key element of the architects’ vision is the movable pool floor. It will be raised and lowered depending on the needs. In this way, the pool will match the needs of users of all ages and with different skills.

Interestingly, the floor will be able to completely cover the pool, thanks to which it will gain additional functions. It will become, for example, a room for social and cultural events. Architects also plan to fill the entire space with a thin layer of water, which is to create a mirror reflection of the church decorations and give the impression of “walking on water”.

A modern pool in a historic church

The winning project involves saving the historical elements of the church. The benches are to become seats for floating and bar tables for people who will wait for their turn or friends. A rescuer position will be organized at the pulpit.

An unusual pool will also gain new decorations. A mosaic floor will be created, inspired by stained glass windows and other materials existing in the church. He will refer to the murals in Heerlen and will be created in cooperation with local artists.

The whole is to emphasize new lighting, adapted to the aesthetics of the Church and emphasizing its historical character. The visualization assumed that organs would be left in the building. To protect all this from moisture, glass walls will be installed. Roof insulation is also planned to avoid overheating the interior.

Heerlen in the Netherlands focuses on the revitalization of the center

The implementation of this bold project is planned for 2027. Heerlen wants to renew the Royal-Rivoli cinema and build a Roman Museum. Maas, co -founder of MVRDV, responded to people reluctant to convert churches

As he said, the vacancy rate among churches in the Netherlands is only growing. In his opinion, it’s time for creative ideas to use these buildings. Architects emphasize that new public functions are a much better solution than just demolishing the temple.