Sint-Fran­ciscus van Assi­s­i­kerk in Heerlen

Holy water

 

MVRDV & Zecc Archi­tecten

More and more churches are falling out of use. Why not give them a new social purpose? A public swim­ming pool like Holy Water is certainly a great idea: swim­ming on your back beneath the church vaults, with views of colorful stained-glass windows — a comple­tely new spatial expe­ri­ence.

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Trans­for­ma­tion

MVRDV and Zecc Archi­tecten won the compe­ti­tion to repur­pose the Sint-Fran­ciscus van Assisi Church in Heerlen. The concept, called “Holy Water,” envi­sions trans­forming the vacant church buil­ding into a public swim­ming pool—while preser­ving the listed historic struc­ture.

The church was built over 100 years ago and has not been used for its original purpose since 2023. The city of Heerlen now sees “Holy Water” as an oppor­tu­nity to breathe new life into the church with its distinc­tive silhou­ette at the city center. The planned swim­ming hall will not only relieve the already heavily frequented muni­cipal pools but will also become part of a larger urban renewal stra­tegy.

Preser­va­tion

The design for Holy Water features a glowing, circular canopy above the main entrance—a symbol of the connec­tion between past and present. Inside, visi­tors pass through the nave to reach the chan­ging rooms and the café, which are located in the rear part of the church. Glass walls sepa­rate these areas from the climate-controlled central swim­ming hall.

The pool’s adjus­table floor allows for a variety of uses—from a children’s splash area to an event space. When fully raised, the floor creates a comple­tely flat surface that can also be used for cultural events. Addi­tio­nally, the surface can be flooded with a thin layer of water, produ­cing a stun­ning reflec­tion of the church inte­rior. Visi­tors then get the sensa­tion of walking on water.

Back­stroke

The old church pews have found new life in the glass parti­tions: on one side they serve as seating for swim­mers, and on the other, for spec­ta­tors. Even the pulpit is repur­posed as an elevated station for the life­guard.

A major chall­enge lies in sustain­ably heating the church inte­rior while protec­ting the historic mate­rials from mois­ture. Glass walls create a thermal barrier to safe­guard the stained glass windows and artworks.

The roof is insu­lated from the outside to reduce heat loss while preser­ving the original masonry visible inside. The wooden roof struc­ture remains intact and is enhanced with sound-absor­bing elements to improve acou­stics. All buil­ding services, inclu­ding air hand­ling, are discreetly housed in the base­ment.

In short, Holy Water gains an energy-effi­cient, comfor­table design without compro­mi­sing the church’s historic fabric.

Opening is planned for late 2027.

Project data

Archi­tect

 MVRDV & Zecc Archi­tecten

Winy Maas, Gideon Maas­land, Gijs Rikken, Magda Porcoțeanu, Justin Vermeulen, Bart Keller­huis, Roy van Maar­se­veen, Thijmen Hilhorst

Client

City of Heerlen

Opening

2027

Address

Sint-Fran­ciscus van Assi­s­i­kerk
Laan­der­straat 33
6411 VA Heerlen
Nieder­lande

Illus­tra­tions

MVRDV

Text

MVRDV

Plans

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