Project by Hee Leong Lim
This project reimagines the Church of the Holy Communion as a new form of urban sanctuary through clothing as an act of care. As church attendance declines in New York City, many religious buildings remain architecturally preserved but socially inactive. This project asks how sacredness can return today in a non-religious way.
Drawing from the church’s cruciform and liturgical spatial structure, the project introduces a new everyday ritual centered on clothing. At the crossing of the church, directly in front of the original altar, a “sacred cloth mound” is created where second-hand garments are deposited. Nearby fashion students transform these clothes, which are then freely redistributed to people in need, including the surrounding unhoused population.
The project establishes a permanent charitable institution supported by student-led production, limited retail, and partnerships with nearby churches and educational institutions. Through the repeated cycle of taking, transforming, and redistributing clothing, the church is reactivated as an infrastructure of care, dignity, and urban refuge.
