Immaculate Construction: The Abandoned Church That Became a Skatepark

If you go to this point on Google Maps, the Street View reveals what appears to be a perfectly normal old church:

But take a look inside the building and this is what you’ll see:

Pretty awesome, huh?

La Iglesia Skate, as the renovated church/skatepark has been redubbed, is the handiwork of a Spanish collective called Church Brigade. The group started work on the abandoned building in 2014, constructing ramps and other skatepark accoutrements: 

It wasn’t until 2015, when Church Brigade brought in artist Okuda San Miguel, that the space took on its now-trademark colorful form, as well as a secondary moniker: Kaos Temple. As you can see in the videos and photos below, Okuda transformed the place into a psychedelic skateboarding Shangri-La, a veritable Sistine Chapel for extreme sports:

Church Brigade crowdfunded the initial renovations to the building; partnerships and sponsorships came to follow. You’ll notice that Red Bull, which has a penchant for latching on to interesting stuff like this, was a major contributor.

The Church Brigade team maintains the space and treats it as a cultural center, renting it out for events and occasions.

As you can see in the photos below, this is one of the coolest renovation/repurposing jobs in recent memory.

For more photos, check out the official La Iglesia Skate website.

Source: Design Milk

(Photos by Elchino Pomares)

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Robert Montenegro is a writer and dramaturg who regularly contributes to Big Think and Crooked Scoreboard. He lives in Washington DC and is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Twitter: @Monteneggroll. Website: robertmontenegro.com.