An empty church in Heerlen, Netherlands, is set to receive a second life, with plans underway to convert the vacant building into a public swimming pool called Holy Water.
The St. Francis of Assisi Church was last used as a space for religious activity in 2023, and Dutch architecture firms MVRDV and Zecc Architecten were tapped to design the renovation of the building. The plans will preserve the church’s historic features while giving it a new way to serve the community.
A swimming pool will be added to the nave, and current designs show the pool with an adjustable flooring to create different depths. If raised all the way for special events, the floor will hold a shallow layer of water to create the illusion of walking on water while reflecting the interior of the church.
Other special features include lighting above the pool inspired by the original church lamps and a mosaic pattern designed by local artists, which boasts tiles referencing the existing colors, materials and stained glass windows in the St. Francis of Assisi Church.
Renovations will construct changing rooms and a cafe for the space, as well as adding insulation to the roof.
One of MVRDV’s founding partners, Winy Maas, commented on the decision to convert the vacant church into a swimming pool.
“The vacancy rate of churches is increasing, so we need to come up with new, creative ideas for what we can do with these buildings,” Maas said.
“Why not give these churches a social function again, as they used to have? A public swimming pool is ideally suited for this… By covering the entire pool area with a small layer of water, you can also create a beautiful visual effect, allowing the church to return to its original form and appear even larger and more impressive through the reflection.”
The pool is expected to be open to swimmers in 2027 and will be part of a larger city development, including the creation of a Roman museum and the renovation of the Royal-Rivoli cinema.
No problem at all with re-using space like this and protecting the unique architecture.
But calling it ‘holy water’ and having some sort of walking on water illusion is a bit much in my humble opinion.
Also not sure how well actual church pews will hold up in an aquatic environment.
More substance in one drop
We do all kinds of bathtubs and tiles but have never installed in a house of the lord
Talk about holy water.
I lived in Heerlen for eight years and just moved from there last year…. Awesome little city. I miss it. This is cool.
keep JD vance out of there.
keep politics out of here
keep levity out too, I guess. \(^o^)/
In my city, we turn our old churches into brew houses. Go figure.
The dutch will never have an olympic champion again after such sacrilege
lmaoooo