当教堂变身豪宅

When Colin Bodell moved into a new 3,000-square-foot condo in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood in August, he was looking forward to living with its 30-foot ceilings, polished-marble floors and 20-foot-tall stained-glass windows. One thing he didn't anticipate, however, was people knocking on his front door to ask what time services were or to speak to the pastor.

当科林·博戴尔(Colin Bodell)今年8月搬入位于西雅图国会山社区(Capitol Hill)一套面积3,000平方英尺（约合279平方米）的全新共管公寓时，他期待住进的是一套天花板高30英尺（约合九米）、有着20英尺（约合六米）高的彩色玻璃窗和光面大理石地板的公寓中。但有一点是他没有预料到的，那就是常有人敲他的前门，询问礼拜开始的时间或什么时候才能和牧师对话。

'People still thought it was a church because of its exterior,' says Mr. Bodell, a 50-year-old technology executive at Amazon. 'They didn't realize it had been transformed into a home.'

50岁的博戴尔是亚马逊公司(Amazon)的一名技术高管，他说：“人们仍然认为这是一间教堂，因为它的外观没变。他们没有意识到这里已经变成了住家。

Mr. Bodell's apartment, which he bought for about $1 million, sits inside a former Christian Science Church that was converted into 12 townhouses earlier this year and renamed the Sanctuary.

博戴尔的公寓所在的建筑此前是一座基督教科学会(Christian Science)教堂。今年早些时候这座教堂被改建成了12套联排住宅，并被重新命名为“圣所(Sanctuary)。博戴尔购买这套房子花了大约100万美元。

The building is one of a number of church-to-home luxury conversions popping up around the country. As dozens of churches close or move to different quarters each year, they're finding second lives as condo developments and townhouses.

这处教堂公寓只是全美各地如雨后春笋般冒出的众多由教堂改建而成的豪华住宅之一。由于每年全美都有数十座教堂关闭或搬迁至别处，将这些教堂改建成共管公寓和联排住宅能够让其焕发第二春。

The conversion process is growing more common as shrinking congregations and shifting demographics have made it difficult for some congregations to stay afloat financially. According to a March report from CoStar Group, a real-estate research firm, 138 church-owned properties across the country were sold by banks last year, compared with 24 three years earlier.

由于信教群体不断萎缩以及人口结构的转变令部分教会在财政上难以为继，将教堂改建成豪华住宅的做法越来越普遍。房地产研究机构CoStar Group今年3月发布的一份报告指出，全美去年共有138处教会拥有的房产被银行出售，而三年前只有24处。

The Roman Catholic Church, for example, has closed hundreds of churches in recent years. In 2000, there were 19,236 Roman Catholic parishes across the U.S.; that figure fell to 17,644 by 2012, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a nonprofit research organization that compiles church statistics. United Methodists have seen the number of churches shrink by about 7% over the past decade or so, with 300 to 400 churches closing or merging each year. In 2000, United Methodists had 35,537 churches, compared with 33,069 in 2011.

例如，近年来罗马天主教会(Roman Catholic Church)已经关闭了数百所教堂。一个名为“使徒应用研究中心(Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate)的专门编制有关教会的统计数据的非营利性研究机构说，在2000年，全美共有19,236个罗马天主教教区，到2012年这一数字下降到17,644个。在过去大约10年的时间内，联合卫理公会(United Methodists)教堂的数量减少了约7%，每年关闭或合并的教堂数量在300到400之间。在2000年，联合卫理公会还有35,537所教堂，到2011年这一数字下降到了33,069。

The Seattle church where Mr. Bodell now lives was built around 1908 as First Church of Christ, Scientist, and counted about 800 regular attendees in its heyday. But by 2006, its congregation had dwindled to about 25 people, so the congregation relocated and sold off the church property for $1.3 million.

身为博戴尔居所前身的那座西雅图教堂建于1908年前后，曾属基督教科学会第一教会(First Church of Christ, Scientist)所有。其鼎盛时期约有800名定期参加礼拜的会众。但到了2006年，会众规模萎缩至大约25人。该教会因此搬迁，并以130万美元的价格出售了这座教堂。

Architects have found creative ways to convert these historic buildings -- which often have 40- or 50-foot-high ceilings, few or no interior walls and stained-glass windows -- into homes and apartments that will sell for millions of dollars.

建筑师们找到了多种很有创意的方法将这些历史悠久的建筑改建为售价高达数百万美元的宅邸和公寓。这些教堂的天花板通常高达40至50英尺（约合12米至15米），室内很少或没有 壁，配有彩色玻璃窗。

But it isn't an easy process: Not only do the structures need intensive interior reconstruction and upgrades to meet modern building codes, but they often have been granted landmark status, further complicating renovations.

但这不是一个简单的过程：除了其种种结构需要密集的内部改造和升级以符合现代建筑规范外，这些教堂往往已经成为当地的地标性建筑，这进一步加大了翻修的难度。

'The good news with churches is that you have 40-foot-tall ceilings, but the bad news is that you have 40-foot ceilings,' says Continuum Co. chief executive and developer Ian Bruce Eichner, who in the early 1980s renovated an 1846 Greek Revival-style church in Manhattan's Greenwich Village to create 15 co-op units. 'And because churches are usually landmarks, you can't change the facade,' he adds. Most big urban renovations cost about $10 million and can take two to four years, or in the case of the Seattle project, about $12 million over a five-year period.

房地产开发商Continuum Co.的首席执行长伊恩·布鲁斯·艾施纳(Ian Bruce Eichner)说：“在改建教堂时，高达40英尺（约合12米）的天花板既是优势，也是劣势。在上世纪80年代初期，艾施纳曾将纽约曼哈顿格林威治村(Greenwich Village)一座建于1846年的希腊复兴风格的教堂改建成可供15户业主居住的公寓楼。他说：“由于教堂通常都是地标性建筑，所以你不能改变其外立面。多数位于城市的教堂翻修大项目花费约1,000万美元，需要两到四年才能完工。上述西雅图那个项目则花费约1,200万美元，耗时五年才完工。

In the Boston area, more than a dozen churches have been converted to residential projects over the past decade or so. That's in part because there has been a steady supply. The Archdiocese of Boston closed 76 parishes in the metro area under a 2004 consolidation plan, selling 38 of those for just over $73 million. (To signify that a church is no longer a church, the archbishop signs a decree that relegates the building to 'profane use.')

在波士顿地区，在过去10年左右的时间内，有十几座教堂被改建成了住宅项目。这在一定程度上是因为可供改建的教堂数量充足。根据2004年的一项合并计划，波士顿大主教管区(Archdiocese of Boston)关闭了波士顿地区的76个教区，并以超过7,300万美元一点点的价格出售了其中38座教堂。（为了表明一座教堂不再作为教堂使用，大主教需要签署一项法令，允许这座教堂改作世俗用途）。

One of the churches closed was a Tudor-style church called St. Aidan's in Brookline, Mass., where John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy were both baptized. It reopened in 2009 as a residential project. The church's stone facade and slate roof were preserved, but the interior walls were reframed to support two additional floors. The church was converted into nine high-end condo units that each sold for between $1 million and $1.8 million.

其中一座被关闭的教堂位于马萨诸塞州布鲁克兰(Brookline)，名为圣艾丹堂(St. Aidan's)，是一座都铎风格的教堂。约翰·F.肯尼迪(John F. Kennedy)和罗伯特·肯尼迪(Robert Kennedy)都曾在这所教堂接受洗礼。这座教堂在2009年被改造成了一个住宅项目。教堂的石材外立面和石板屋顶被保留，但其内部 壁经过重新构造以支撑新增两层楼的重量，最终被改建为九套高端共管公寓，每套售价在100万美元至180万美元之间。

Many of the units in St. Aidan's have two-story windows, granite countertops and double-height living rooms with overlooking balconies. Some units also have exposed wooden trusses from the church as well as the church's original dentil molding.

圣艾丹堂项目的很多公寓都有两层楼高的窗户，配有花岗岩台面和挑高客厅，此外还有可以俯瞰外景的阳台。一些公寓还能看到教堂原先用于支撑屋顶的木质桁架，以及教堂屋檐下原有的齿状装饰。

Those rarefied architectural details are a major attraction for many occupants of church-to-home conversions. Shankar Sundaram, 34, a research engineer for Boeing, recently moved into a 2,900-square-foot, two-bedroom townhouse in the former Christian Science church in Seattle with his fiancee. 'We figured that a place would hold its value more if it was unique, like a piece of art,' he says. 'And it's pretty hard to replicate a 100-year-old church.'

这些考究的建筑细节是吸引很多住户选择“教堂豪宅的一大因素。34岁的波音公司(Boeing)研究工程师尚卡尔·桑达拉姆(Shankar Sundaram)最近和未婚妻搬进了西雅图一套面积2,900平方英尺（约合269平方米）、有两间卧室的联排住宅，房子的所在此前是一座基督教科学会教堂。桑达拉姆说：“我们认为如果一座建筑是独一无二的，那么其保值能力更强，就像一件艺术品一样。想要再造一座百年老教堂可是相当不容易。

Mr. Sundaram and his fiancee love to entertain in their four-story townhouse, which has 35-foot-high ceilings. The dining table sits underneath two 20-foot-tall stained-glass windows. 'It's the perfect space to play music,' he says of the space. 'Whatever you play sounds like it's live, like you're in a concert hall as opposed to listening through a stereo.'

桑达拉姆和他的未婚妻喜欢在他们这栋共有四层楼的联排住宅中待客，房子的天花板高35英尺（约合11米），餐桌的上方是两扇高达20英尺（约合六米）的彩色玻璃窗。桑达拉姆在谈到屋内空间时说：“这是播放音乐的绝佳空间。无论你播放什么类型的音乐，听上去现场感都极强，好像你是坐在音乐厅中而不是通过立体声音响来欣赏音乐的。

In the guest bedroom, there's a skylight that looks onto the church's main stained-glass dome. The couple installed an electric blind over the skylight so they can surprise guests with it when they visit.

客房内有一扇天窗面向教堂内装饰有彩绘玻璃的主穹顶。主人在天窗上方安装了一块电动天幕，这样当客人参观房间时他们可以用这个装置让客人大吃一惊。

People who live in church conversions say that they easily find uses for some of the more unusual artifacts. Automotive executive Bob Jensen and his wife bought a converted 1920s Presbyterian church in 2007. It's now a 3,463-square-foot home 20 minutes outside Denver. They say that their four granddaughters like to come over and ring the steeple bell, pulling a rope hanging in the home's foyer. 'We have a tradition of ringing it on New Year's,' Mr. Jensen adds.

住在教堂改建的住所中的人们说，对于教堂内一些很不寻常的物品，他们也能很容易发掘其用途。汽车业高管鲍勃·詹森(Bob Jensen)和他的妻子在2007年买下了一处房子，房子的所在原先是一座建于上世纪20年代的长老会教堂。这套住宅有3,463平方英尺（约合322平方米）的居住面积，距丹佛市中心只有20分钟的车程。这对老夫妻说，他们四个孙女喜欢过来玩，并敲响位于尖顶内的钟。敲钟用的绳子一直悬垂到家中的门厅。詹森说：“我们家有在新年敲响这座钟的传统。

Mr. Jensen and his wife eat breakfast every morning in a nook where the altar used to sit. The couple sleeps in the choir loft, which overlooks the space. 'When you're in bed, you're in the center of the church, which is a great feeling,' says Mr. Jensen. There are exposed wooden beams remaining from the original structure throughout the home, and one wooden pew from the church sits in the living room, along with more plush couches. Despite its novelty, the pew is often the last seat chosen by guests, Mr. Jensen notes.

詹森和他的妻子每天早上都在一个原先摆放圣台的角落吃早餐。夫妇俩的卧房原先是唱诗班演唱时所站的楼厢，可以俯瞰整个屋内空间。詹森说：“当你躺在床上时，你位于教堂的中心，这种感觉真棒。在整个屋子中都可以看到原先教堂结构中裸露的木梁。而客厅内则摆放着一张教堂此前使用的木质长凳，另外还摆放了多张舒适的沙发。詹森指出，虽然看上去很新奇，但长凳通常不是客人的最先选择。

Developers of church projects say they are sometimes hesitant to convert sacred structures into commercial enterprises. Brian Badrigian, who developed a late-19th-century Baptist church in Watertown, Mass., into eight condo units, says he had 'mixed feelings' about buying the property in 2003 for $1.4 million, especially because it was located in the same town where his family had lived since emigrating from Armenia in the early 1900s. 'While the sale allowed the congregation to move to a more suitable location, it was also a move away from a special place,' he says. 'But I have very good feelings about saving a historic building.'

教堂项目的开发商说，有时他们也会感到犹豫，纠结于是否该把神圣的教堂改建成商业住宅项目。布赖恩·百得利基恩(Brian Badrigian)曾将马萨诸塞州沃特敦(Watertown)一座建于19世纪晚期的浸信会教堂开发成八套共管公寓。他说2003年斥资140万美元买下这座教堂时他的感觉非常复杂，原因之一是教堂位于他的家族在20世纪初从亚美尼亚移民至美国以来一直居住的小镇。他说：“虽然教堂出售后会众可以到一个更加合适的场所做礼拜，但这也是向一个具有特殊意义的地方说再见。但能够挽救一座历史建筑让我感觉很棒。

Mr. Badrigian spent about $9 million on renovating the property, which includes eight units in the church, two units in the former rectory and four townhouse units he built on the church's former parking lot. Of the eight units in the church, five have sold for between $700,000 and $1.5 million. The four townhouse units sold for around $1 million each, and the two units in the former rectory sold for about $700,000 each. Mr. Badrigian says he tried to build units with modern amenities, such as dishwashers, cellulose insulation in the walls and laundry rooms with washers and dryers, while also retaining some of the unique architectural elements of the church, such as its wooden trusses and paneled ceilings. Some of the units on the second floor have living and dining areas with 36-foot-high ceilings.

百得利基恩花了大约900万美元翻修这座教堂，新项目包括教堂内的八套公寓、原先神父住所改建成的两套公寓，以及教堂前停车场上新建的四套联排住宅。教堂内的八套公寓中，有五套已经售出，价格在70万美元至150万美元之间。四套联排住宅每套售价约为100万美元。神父住所改建的两套公寓每套以大约70万美元的价格售出。百得利基恩说，他尽量给这些公寓配备了现代化设施，比如洗碗机、 体所用的纤维素绝缘材料以及带有洗衣机和烘干机的洗衣房。但他同时保留了教堂特有的一些建筑元素，比如木质桁架以及带镶板的天花板。在二楼的部分公寓，客厅和用餐区域的天花板高达36英尺（约合11米）。

'Our unit isn't churchy at all, but it definitely feels unique and different and not boring,' says Mary Shia, a fundraiser who moved into a three-bedroom condo there. Ms. Shia says that she has, however, experienced some backlash in the community over living in a former church. 'The cable guy had a hissy fit about having to install cable in a church,' she says. 'He acted like the world was ending because people were now living inside churches.'

玛丽·希亚(Mary Shia)是一名筹款人，她搬进了其中一套有三间卧室的共管公寓。她说：“我们这套公寓看起来完全不像教堂，但它带给人的感觉非常独特，与众不同，一点儿也不单调。希亚说她也曾因为住在由教堂改建的公寓里遭遇过社区里一些人的反对。希亚说：“负责安装有线电视的家伙因为要在教堂安装有线电视一事而发脾气。他的行为就像世界末日到了，因为现在有很多人住在教堂里。

Although it's still relatively rare in the U.S., the adaptive reuse of churches has become a popular practice in other countries, like the U.K. In 2006, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that since 2001, about 500 churches in London alone had been converted into homes. In other countries, such as Germany and Russia, people still regard the concept of living in a church as disrespectful, says Bart Kellerhuis of Utrecht-based firm Zecc Architects, which has done several church-to-home conversions in the Netherlands.

虽然将教堂改建成住宅的做法在美国相对还比较罕见，但教堂的适应性再利用在英国等国已经很常见了。2006年，英国皇家特许测量师学会(Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)的调查发现，自2001年以来，单是在伦敦就有大约500座教堂被改建成住宅。但总部位于荷兰乌得勒支(Utrecht)的建筑师事务所Zecc Architects的巴特·凯勒休伊斯(Bart Kellerhuis)说，在德国和俄罗斯等国家，人们仍然认为住在教堂里是一种不敬的行为。Zecc Architects曾将荷兰的多座教堂改建成了住宅。

One of challenges in such conversions is reducing the vast space of a church into something more livable. Living spaces can feel overwhelmingly grand, and heating costs can be considerable.

改建工作所面临的挑战之一是如何将教堂的巨大空间变成更加适合居住的场所。住在教堂会让人感觉居住空间异常庞大，而且取暖费开支也是相当可观的。

Andrew Sudds, who with his wife, Kristin Conley, paid $600,000 for a former Lutheran church in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood last year, says it is virtually impossible to keep the room where he they sleep warm. The roof isn't insulated, making it hard to heat the 3,500-square-foot space with a 39-foot ceiling.

安德鲁·萨兹(Andrew Sudds)和他的妻子克里斯汀·康利(Kristin Conley)去年花了60万美元买下芝加哥洪堡公园(Humboldt Park)社区的一处住所，其前身是一座路德教会教堂。萨兹说，想要让他们的卧室保暖几乎是不可能的。房顶没有做隔热层，因此这套面积3,500平方英尺（约合325平方米）且天花板高39英尺（约合12米）的房子想要保持暖和很不容易。

'We don't keep the heat running, otherwise we'd owe thousands of dollars in heating bills,' says Mr. Sudds, an information-technology specialist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. 'But even if we did, the heat would just rise and escape through the roof. The fact is that this structure wasn't built for continuous habitation.'

萨兹是伊利诺伊州健康保险公司蓝十字蓝盾(Blue Cross Blue Shield)的IT专家，他说：“我们没有让暖气一直供着，否则一年单是取暖费就要数千美元。但就算我们成天开着暖气，热量还是会通过房顶耗散。事实是，这样的建筑结构本来就不是为长期居住设计的。