The original church was a voluminous building with a high roof lined with beautiful wood paneling and a choir platform on one side with two dormer windows. In total, the volume of the church was 3,000 cubic meters, which is around 6 times larger than the average family home in the area. The volume was far grander than the family needed, but there was no need to tear the building down as it was in good working order, so Ruud Visser Architects set out to design a ‘luxurious house of normal measurements.’
A new house was built inside the church and situated as an independent object with three stories contained within the volume. The entire church is left open on the river side, which allows light to stream in through the dormer windows as well as the brand new floor-to-roof windows and sliding glass doors. The living space is located on the bottom floor and then two more floors are stacked on top, but the edges never touch the sides of the walls or the roof of the church.
Neighbors might think they’re holier-than-thou, but this House in a Church along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam is a beautiful example of adaptive reuse. The 1930’s church had ended its career as a religious sanctuary and was being used as a garage for fixing and selling cars before a family came along and wanted to transform it. With the help of Ruud Visser Architects and Peter Boer, the church was adapted into a home fit for a family of four.
[2]
The House in a Church sits right along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam and has beautiful views of the landscape.
[3]
The original church was constructed in the 1930s, but it was no longer being used as a place of worship. Instead, it was a mechanics shop for cars.
[4]
[5]
In order to create the impression of a normal-sized home, the architects decided to place a house within the church rather than using the whole space for the home.
[6]
The volume of the church is larger than most average family homes.
[7]
Once inside, the rafters, wood paneling and original interior walls are completely visible throughout the house, and a three-story home is contained within the walls of the church.
[8]
The first two stories rise up to meet the arched roof, and the third floor uses the church roof for its ceiling.
[9]
The far side of the church closest to the river was replaced with floor-to-roof windows to let natural daylight into the space.
[10]
Louvers on the exterior of the windows protect the interior from overheating during the summer.
[11]
The bottom floor living area directly connects to an open and empty space that rises up all the way to the roof.
[12]
The first floor contains the living space, dining room and kitchen.
[13]
The second floor contains the master bedroom and additional bedrooms.
[14]
The third floor contains additional rooms and utilizes the church roof as its ceiling.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]