Cardboard Cathedral

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Cardboard Cathedral

The Cardboard Cathedral (: German Cardboard Cathedral , casually in the media also Papp Cathedral called) in Christchurch , New Zealand is a provisional Anglican Cathedral and replaces the Christ Church Cathedral , by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake was damaged beyond repair. It is the only cathedral in the world that was built partially from cardboard . The building was designed by the architect Shigeru Ban .

history

When the older cathedral was destroyed it was 132 years old. This church had been the downtown landmark for more than a century. Since its completion, the building has been exposed to several earthquakes between 1881 and 2010. During the earthquakes of 1881, 1888 and 1901, the spire was damaged more and more. The cathedral was damaged again on September 4, 2010, but services and regular parish activities were resumed. The main damage to the cathedral was caused by the earthquake on February 22, 2011 - which killed 185 people in the city center. After this earthquake, the spire fell to the ground. Although there were no deaths in the building, one person was injured and rescued in the bell tower. The cathedral was then closed. Due to a few aftershocks, the church was even more damaged, including the rose window of the cathedral was completely destroyed in June 2011 . The building was deconsecrated in November 2011 , four months before the cathedral was ready to be demolished.

Cardboard Cathedral architecture

The interior of the Cardboard Cathedral

The Cardboard Cathedral was designed by the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban . Ban is known for its makeshift buildings in disaster areas and the use of cardboard to make these buildings quick and inexpensive. His previous projects include the cardboard box dome in Kobe (after the 1995 earthquake) and emergency shelters in Africa. The Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch was his second church.

When he arrived in Christchurch, Ban and his assistant Yoshie Narimatsu worked with Warren and Mahoney to design the building for free. As with previous projects, Ban used local materials to build the church. According to Ban, the design of this cathedral was inspired by the architecture of the destroyed cathedral.

The Cardboard Cathedral is located in downtown Christchurch, near where the destroyed Christchurch Cathedral was located. The church is an A-mast building and is 24 meters high. The building was constructed from 96 cardboard tubes, but the structure of this building is not entirely made of cardboard tubes. The tubes cover large wooden beams, each weighing 498 kilograms. Smaller such tubes are used inside the church, for example in the choir stalls, a lectern, the donation boxes and a candle holder. The small chapel is surrounded by smaller tubes. Similar to other temporary buildings in Christchurch, the cathedral's substructure is made of containers. The facade of the building is made of polycarbonate to take advantage of the sunlight. The cathedral can seat 700 people and is also used as a meeting place and concert hall.

In December 2011, the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch asked the Mayor's Office to provide a state-owned site to build the makeshift cathedral for ten years. Because of the economic impact of such a provision - including the loss of expansion opportunities and the renting of the site - the city council declined this request. According to their report, the city council had to consider the needs of the entire Christchurch community.

construction

At the start of construction, the budget of this project was 5.3 million New Zealand dollars (3.4 million euros), but due to necessary repairs after a period of bad weather, the cost increased to 5.9 million New Zealand dollars (3.7 million euros) in February 2013. The original goal was to complete the construction of Cardboard Cathedral before the first anniversary of the February earthquake. The construction was delayed until August 2013 for various reasons, namely because of a court hearing in which the Anglican diocese was involved. A Supreme Court judge ruled that it was illegal to use insurance payouts to fund the construction of Cardboard Cathedral. Therefore, in November 2012, the diocese started a fundraising campaign.

On April 22, 2012, the Cardboard Cathedral site was blessed in a special ceremony. Construction began on July 24, 2012, with the expectation that the church would be completed and opened in December 2012. But there were delays in the construction of the building, namely because of heavy rainfall in June 2013. This period of bad weather softened the cardboard tubes, but because the structure was made of wood and steel, there was no damage to the building. On August 2, 2013, Cardboard Cathedral was opened in a small-group ceremony. The cathedral was open to the public later that week.

Public reactions

Following the February 2011 earthquake, Christchurch Dean Peter Beck told the media that the older cathedral was "a symbol of the spirit of the people [of Christchurch]". He said "for the past two days this spirit has been shaken by fate" ". In March 2012, amid Christchurch residents' grief over the destruction of their cathedral, Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews announced that the damaged cathedral would be demolished and a new building built. This decision caused a lot of criticism from the population.

At the beginning, the construction of the Cardboard Cathedral was controversial, it was assumed that such a makeshift cathedral would be aesthetically inferior. Ian Brackenbury Channell - also known as the New Zealand Warlock - panned the Cardboard Cathedral's design as "kitsch". The church has now become a major tourist attraction in Christchurch. Cardboard Cathedral has not only caught the attention of the New Zealand public, but also the global media. According to Ban, the public reaction was "surprisingly big".

The future of the building

The building is expected to be used for about 50 years Template: future / in 5 years. If a new cathedral is built, the Cardboard Cathedral will be the replacement building for St. John's Church.

Web links

Commons : Cardboard Cathedral  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Earthquake region: Christchurch gets a cardboard cathedral . Spiegel Online , April 6, 2012, accessed September 28, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b c Heritage - The ChristChurch Cathedral . Christchurch City Libraries , accessed September 27, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b Bosco Peters : Christchurch cathedral to be demolished . Liturgy , March 2, 2012, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  4. ^ A b Anthony Dennis : Budget shortfall for Christchurch's tubular cardboard cathedral . Traveler , February 8, 2013, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  5. ↑ a b Christchurch Transitional (Cardboard) Cathedral . ArchitectureNow , accessed September 27, 2014 .
  6. ^ A b Cathleen McGuigan : Ban's Cardboard Cathedral Rises in Christchurch . Architetual Record , February 23, 2013, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  7. ↑ a b c Tim Newcomb : New Zealand Cathedral to Be Rebuilt With Cardboard. Seriously. . Time , August 31, 2011, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  8. ^ A b David Rowland : Cardboar Cathedral Site Options Christchurch . (PDF (80 kB)) Christchurch City Council , December 8, 2011, accessed on September 27, 2014 .
  9. ^ Thomas Mead : Anglican Church starts fundraiser for Christchurch Cardboard Cathedral . (No longer available online.) 3News , November 29, 2012, archived from the original on January 9, 2016 ; accessed on September 27, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.3news.co.nz
  10. ↑ a b Francesca Lee : Site blessed for cardboard cathedral . Stuff - Faifax Media , April 23, 2012, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Ground work starts on 'cardboard cathedral' . (No longer available online.) 3News , July 24, 2012, archived from the original on October 6, 2014 ; accessed on September 27, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.3news.co.nz
  12. ↑ Charlie Gates : Rain leaves cathedral tubes soggy . Stuff - Faifax Media , July 19, 2013, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Ashleight Stewart : Cardboard cathedral finally unveiled . Stuff - The Press - Faifax Media , August 2, 2013, accessed September 27, 2014 .
  14. ↑ Christchurch Cathedral . Radio New Zealand , February 24, 2011, accessed September 27, 2014 .

Coordinates: 43 ° 31 ′ 56.1 ″  S , 172 ° 38 ′ 34.3 ″  E