Rebekah Coffman is a historian, preservationist, and curator currently serving as curator of religion and community history for the Chicago History Museum. Her interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of religious identity and the built environment and explores themes of tangible and intangible heritages in material and visual culture through place-based, community-centered approaches. She holds an MA in Historical and Sustainable Architecture from NYU London, where her research centered on the adaptive reuse of religious buildings.
Courses
Tri-Faith Commons: A Case Study in Community Engagement
Tri-Faith Commons serves as an international model for interfaith learning, collaboration, and community-building. This unique project brings together a synagogue, church, mosque, and interfaith center on a 38-acre campus in Omaha, Nebraska. Using Countryside Community Church—the most-recent architectural addition to Tri-Faith Commons—as a case study, discover how these diverse communities worked with the design team to find common ground to create a built space that unites populations that have been traditionally perceived to be in conflict in an ongoing conversation. Through a conversation with Executive Director Wendy Goldberg, explore how the project evolved to create four distinct spaces that coexist within an intentionally planned landscape.
This session was recorded live on February 15, 2024.
Repurposing Sacred Spaces: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Adaptive Reuse
Thursday, October 16, 2025 | 12 - 1pm ET
This panel convenes leading experts to explore innovative adaptive reuse strategies for underutilized faith-based buildings across the United States. Hear from several different perspectives on the critical challenges faced by institutions that are closing or falling into disrepair, in both rural and urban contexts. Discussions will range from the complexities of leveraging historic tax credits to offset developer costs, to how to navigate SEC approval and conversion processes. This session is designed for architects seeking practical, innovative strategies to transform faith structures into vibrant new community assets.