The future of parish churches has been high on the agenda in Flanders for some time now. The question of how to repurpose them is usually framed in economic or functional terms: can we convert the church into a library, a crèche or a theatre? During the ‘Van God Los’ design studio at the Faculty of Architecture at KU Leuven, a group of Master’s students took things a step further. After carefully studying a number of churches in Zwalm – the municipality with the highest number of parish churches per inhabitant in Flanders – they examined what role the buildings could play in the (re)programming or (re)structuring of the surrounding spatial and social fabric. They developed possible future scenarios for the parish churches that the church policy plan does not wish to retain for worship services. These are not concrete proposals for repurposing, but thought experiments that make the qualities of these buildings tangible and challenge the imagination.

The scenario by Gabrio Rogiers and Lien Vlerick for the Church of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Sint-Maria-Latem makes use of the church’s size and visibility along the busy Latemdreef to transform it into a theatre hall on a scale appropriate to Zwalm. The gallery in the central nave has 150 seats, accessible via passageways on different levels, creating a unique experience of the church space. The foyer in the oldest part of the church forms the link to the outdoor space, a walled garden tailored to the neighbourhood, which is always accessible. The ‘cupboard’ in the plinth beneath the church contains storage space for chairs and tables, a bar, toilets and a passageway to the changing rooms inside the church. On the other side, the students have designed a platform that serves as a stage or small event space. By playing with the topography, they create a multifunctional cultural hub for the entire Zwalm region, which also benefits the local community.