A building can be abandoned for several reasons, such as structural, functional, economics, socio historical issues. If it is a church, other factors had to be considered. In fact, the secularization of modern society is a wide phenomenon that involves all faiths from Catholics to Protestants, both in rural district and metropolis. The sacral building loses gradually its functionality and, due to high management costs, the owners (principally dioceses) had to optimize their financial resources. In particular, my study is focused on Germany where there is an ongoing transformation process of underused churches, in order to give them a new function and a new life. It led to convert church into ossuary (or columbarium). The building sacredness is preserved, whereas liturgical function fails or is reduced. As a simple empty building, the church keeps its external volume but the interior space is adapted to the new functional requirements. This process, which started from 1990s, is emerging in the last decade.
Un edificio può essere abbandonato per motivi diversi, legati ad aspetti strutturali, funzionali, economici e storico-sociali. Ma se l’edificio in questione è di culto, i fattori possono riguardare certamente anche la secolarizzazione dell’attuale società. Il fenomeno colpisce tutte le fedi, cattolici e protestanti, dai centri rurali alle grandi metropoli. L’edificio in questione perde di funzionalità e gli alti costi di gestione costringono i proprietari (principalmente le diocesi) ad ottimizzare le risorse in proprio possesso. La mia attenzione si focalizza in Germania, dove è in atto un processo di trasformazione degli edifici di culto in disuso, atto a fornire nuova funzione e quindi nuova vita all’edificio stesso. Tale approccio di trasformazione ha portato a convertire le chiese in ossari (o colombari). Il carattere sacro dell’edificio viene salvaguardato, cui però viene meno (o limitata) la funzione liturgica. La chiesa in quanto mero contenitore mantiene inalterata la volumetria, subendo tuttavia un processo di adattamento degli spazi interni alle mutate esigenze funzionali. La pratica, avviata a partire dagli anni 1990, si sta affermando nell’ultimo decennio.
Carbonara, G. (2016). From Church to Columbarium: the German approach to the conversion of underused places of worship. IN BO, 7(10), 274-285 [10.6092/issn.2036-1602/6478].
From Church to Columbarium: the German approach to the conversion of underused places of worship
CARBONARA, GIOVANNI
2016-01-01
Abstract
A building can be abandoned for several reasons, such as structural, functional, economics, socio historical issues. If it is a church, other factors had to be considered. In fact, the secularization of modern society is a wide phenomenon that involves all faiths from Catholics to Protestants, both in rural district and metropolis. The sacral building loses gradually its functionality and, due to high management costs, the owners (principally dioceses) had to optimize their financial resources. In particular, my study is focused on Germany where there is an ongoing transformation process of underused churches, in order to give them a new function and a new life. It led to convert church into ossuary (or columbarium). The building sacredness is preserved, whereas liturgical function fails or is reduced. As a simple empty building, the church keeps its external volume but the interior space is adapted to the new functional requirements. This process, which started from 1990s, is emerging in the last decade.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
