Interfaith Design

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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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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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:
Sent: 05-18-2022 10:58 PM
From: Stephen Pickard
Subject: Declining houses of worship

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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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:
Sent: 05-19-2022 12:09 PM
From: Richard Reinhard
Subject: Declining houses of worship

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:
Sent: 05-18-2022 10:58 PM
From: Stephen Pickard
Subject: Declining houses of worship

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

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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