From Worship to Wellness: A Study of the Adaptive Reuse of Historical Churches in Urban and Rural Ontario

Historical churches in Canada are in a time of crisis. The National Trust for Canada estimates that 1/3 of faith buildings will be forced to close before 2030, which translates to the loss of over 9,000 buildings. The heritage values of these unique spaces are well established in Ontario, and churches have come to represent not only a subset of religious ideologies but also the collective memories of rural and urban communities across the province. The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted pre-existing inequalities and resource gaps in Ontario's healthcare system. As many churches are faced with imminent closure, this thesis questions how these underutilized spaces can reconnect with the church's original values of health and wellness, while also generating a collection of new public health uses and continuing their architectural legacy in Ontario.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Hoytema, Robin Grace

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2021 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2021-14456

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/42330