People's House and Center for life

Sammanfattning

Råby-Rekarne invites the rural communities of Eskilstuna to celebrate the important stages of life with the proposal of a new People's House. Råby-Rekarne is just one example of how the rural communities in the countryside of Eskilstuna seem to have formed around their local church as a gathering point throughout history. The 12th century church which Råby-Rekarne is build around has lost some of its unifying force as members are depleting and perhaps the use of churches are becoming less relevant today. This might call for a new outlook on how churches in small rural communities are going to be used. This proposal is an exploration of the issue and a recognition that People's Houses might be a successor to churches in terms of unifying and gathering people, especially in smaller communities. However, the proposal should not be viewed as a replacement to the church but rather an attempt at preserving social qualities that may be lost if churches are phased out due to depleted membership numbers or low capacity for larger gatherings. The main purpose is to find a way to share responsibilities with existing local establishments such as churches in order to preserve the foundation of local networks and thereby supporting natural growth in small communities. The People's House can be used either for entire ceremonies or for the gatherings that follow ceremonies performed by the church, such as wedding dinners, parties or coffee after funerals.