Across the UK there are thousands of faith buildings playing important roles in their communities. Churches, mosques, gurdwaras, all host gatherings for worship and for community activities such as playgroups, choirs, support groups and many more. Recently, many have been serving as warm banks, providing a space for people struggling to heat their homes in the energy crisis. How can these buildings, often huge and sometimes hundreds of years old, afford to provide these critical spaces in times of energy price hikes and still meet net-zero goals? Inspired by talking to an interfaith group in Birmingham, an innovative infra-red heating company in Bristol and an NYT bestselling science-fiction author, Emma Newman imagines a future in which community groups redesign the function of former shopping malls to create third spaces that repair the fabric of society.

Who we hear from in this episode:

Footsteps: https://footstepsbcf.org.uk/

Herschel Infrared: https://www.herschel-infrared.co.uk/heating-heritage-buildings/churches/

Una McCormack: https://unamccormack.co.uk/

My own website: www.enewman.co.uk

https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/design/faith-buildings-and-local-communities/ - Interesting post about working with Bow Church to expand community activities

http://www.empoweringdesign.net/ - all about the research project looking at community engagement in the use of faith buildings

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/enabling-community-based-leadership-in-design-sustainable-development-of-historic-faith-buildings/1 - An Open University course designed to help people to consult with communities on the use of faith buildings

A video about the Halo heater, in which the diagram about bubbles of heat mentioned in the episode can be seen: https://youtu.be/eqnZF2uYMz4