Location: Swifterbant
Year: 2017
Area: 2.080 m2
Status: concept design
Client: Roman Catholic and Protestant Community in Swifterbant
Team: Remko Remijnse, Agnese Argenti, Kristina Barbalat

For the new church for the Roman Catholic and Protestant Community in Swifterbant, 2by4 architects has studied several options. Assuming a building surface that follows the contours of the current two churches, there are two options that are interesting to investigate.
The first option is based on the demolition of one of the two churches. The apartments will be developed on the vacant site. The advantage of this option is that there is less demolition and the church remains operational during the construction of the apartments. The big disadvantage, however, is that the church building is dated and may no longer meet the wishes and requirements of our time.
In addition, it will be difficult to coordinate the old church and the new apartments in terms of architecture and appearance, which can lead to unwantede results. Finally, the demolition of part of the church can lead to a complex task regarding piping, installations, escape routes, etc. In any case, the church that remains in the places where it will be demolished will have to be closed again.
The second option is to demolish the church in phases in order to eventually achieve a total new construction. Our proposal would be to demolish the right-hand part first and place the new building for the apartments here. When the new building is ready, the left part can be demolished, where the new church will be realized after the demolition. Architecturally it’s preferable to make apartments and church appear spatially one whole.
Beautiful sustainable materials give the church and the apartments a special look that gives the right atmosphere to the location, in the center of Swifterbant. Both the church and the apartments open up on a spacious green square in the heart of the complex. From this courtyard the church and the apartments are accessible and social activities can take place.
The apartments are spacious and set up on one level and are suitable for residents of all ages. On the groundfloor it is possible to give the apartments their personal outdoor space.
The new church, together with the apartments, forms a beautiful beacon in the center of Swifterbant that the whole community can be proud of.