Cardboard cathedral set to wow Christchurch visitors

Cardboard cathedral set to wow Christchurch visitors
By admin


 

I used to play in cardboard boxes when I was a kid. But once inside them they were no longer a box, they were a house, a cave, a castle, or even a cathedral.

It seems I wasn’t the only one who saw the potential of cardboard boxes, as Christchurch is ready to unveil its new so-called cardboard cathedral, a place of worship that can seat around 700 people. The building is made up of 98 cardboard tubes stretching around 20 metres and weighing up to 120 kilograms.

When Christchurch’s iconic cathedral was damaged during the earthquake in February, 2011, this new building, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, was constructed as a temporary replacement to hopefully last about 50 years. Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter said the cathedral has provoked strong international interest and he expects most visitors to Christchurch will be curious to see inside it.

“It’s a fascinating building not only from an architectural and engineering point of view, but also because of the story it tells. It is a building which says much about Christchurch’s resilience and creativity,” Hunter said.

While initially built as a place of worship, the cathedral has also been booked for many functions including music events, cocktail parties and conference dinners.

Like my childhood cardboard box, this cardboard cathedral has a multitude of uses. 

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest News