International conference on the creative reuse of churches

This week we’ll be taking part in an international conference about the creative reuse of historic churches. The ‘Preserve, Use and Develop’ conference is hosted by the Diocese of Lund, Church of Sweden. The event is a chance to explore the community, theological, and heritage value of European church buildings, and to discuss new ways of extending their use and making them sustainable.

A new approach to historic churches

Our Regeneration team has been working with the Diocese of Lund to develop a business process for extended use projects, which will be launched at the event. We will be presenting our findings alongside various case studies from Sweden and beyond.

Keynote speakers include our own chief executive, Peter Aiers; the Revd Canon Dr Stephen Evans of St Marylebone Parish Church, London; and Professor Luc Noppen, Professor of Architecture at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Art and science in a rural church

As part of the programme, a dinner will take place at the rural church of Odarslöv. Delegates will enjoy a sensory arts performance in the recently conserved space. The conference will also explore how the church can connect up with the European Spallation Source (ESS), one of the world’s largest science and technology infrastructure projects, which is situated nearby. 

Conference partners include The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) and International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). It is a part of the European Commission programme for the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

Find out more

‘Preserve Use and Develop – the international conference on ecclesiastical heritage and its future challenges’ runs from 25–26 April 2018 in Lund. More details can be found here.