A Lofty Place to Call Home

From More Intelligent Life:

Making your home a temple is gaining new meaning in the Netherlands, where churches are being repurposed as living spaces. Since 1970 more than a thousand churches have been closed in the country, as the largely atheist population has little use for them. More than a third was demolished. The rest are simply in need of a clever architect.

Erected in 1870 St-Jakobuskerk (pictured), a small neo-Gothic church in Utrecht, stopped hosting masses in 1991. It has since been used as a furniture showroom, a meeting place and a concert venue. Then Zecc, an innovative Utrecht-based architecture firm, stepped in and transformed the church into a stunning modern house, now on the market for €2.375m.

“Re-usage is the only way to prevent long-lasting vacancy or demolition of churches,” says Sien Wittevrongel of Zecc. “With St-Jakobuskerk, we tried to reinstate a dignified monument with as little intervention as possible.”

The result is a state-of-the-art model of recycling. The sleek interior gives a modern feel to vaulted ceilings, stained-glass windows and a complete Jesus fresco (along with a mezzanine designed for rock concerts in the 1990s). We particularly like the chandelier in the loo.