smartercities: 11 New Uses for Old Churches -...

About

Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

Join us on Facebook and Pinterest, too.

We welcome your tips, suggestions, and feedback. Contact: unconsumption@gmail.com

[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Lee Sachs, writer, user experience consultant, filmmaker, New York, NY

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

You are so invited to join in the Unconsumption wiki. Do it!

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

Original by Taylor Ansley (dot) com

4:38 pm - Mon, Feb 6, 2012: 44 notes

smartercities:

11 New Uses for Old Churches - Mental Floss

Cool piece highlighting several re-purposed old churches. I like this brewery/restaurant in Pittsburgh.

via tayloransley

This list is a good start, though there certainly are more than 11 new uses for old churches. In Houston alone, there are at least three former churches that have been converted to uses not mentioned on the list: one church currently serves as a public library (disclosure: I worked for the architectural firm that renovated the building, and I know that link doesn’t feature a great photo of the Houston Public Library’s interior!); another serves as a non-profit art house/microcinema that screens films in its church space; and a third one is a venue for opera performances.

What are the “new uses for old churches” in your community (or elsewhere) that you would add to the list?

Related: Some earlier Unconsumption posts on adaptive reuse.