adaptive reuse

The Church Solutions 2008 Factbook arrived digitally in my Inbox this morning - brimming over with good content. I will hereby commence regurgitating some of said content back to you.

One article, called "Adaptive Reuse" caught my particular attention because it seems like we hear more and more about local ministries opting to renovate an existing, non-church building rather than build from the ground up. Mars Hill in Seattle caused no small stir when they opened their newest campus in an old dance club. Several churches are now taking over bars on Sunday mornings. ... Or maybe I'm partial because my own church is in a former Big Lots department store space.

The Church Solutions article - teasingly labeled "Part I" - discusses some of the benefits to these "found spaces."

1. Lower first cost.
   
2. Faster occupancy.
3. Increased proportion of volunteer-ready work. (New constructions required trained, experienced professionals to lay concrete and erect steel. In a renovation, more of the work can be done by skilled or unskilled volunteers, and construction managers are usually more apt to let skilled volunteers participate since the risks are reduced.)
   
4. Location. (Renovating allows a ministry to set up in densely populated areas.)
5. Environmental sustainability. (Fewer raw materials and less garbage, and you can still get LEED certification.)
   
6. Cultural familiarity and mission. (It's all about knowing your church's DNA.)
7. Experimental freedom. (Go ahead and paint the walls ... again and again.)

Check out Church in the Word in our Project Gallery for one example of adaptive reuse.