Emergency architecture Shigeru Ban and his Christchurch Cathedral.

A transitional cathedral to replace the original cathedral in Christchurch, badly damaged in the earthquake that struck New Zealand in 2011: Shigeru Ban has designed a structure that is almost all made from cardboard to give parishioniers a safe place to worship.



Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has been focusing on emergency relief architecture for some time now. He has designed projects for reconstruction after natural disasters all over the world – from Haiti to Onagawa in Japan, from the USA to Italy.
He designed “Cardboard Cathedral” to give the congregation in the New Zealand city of Christchurch a new place of worship.



Responding to widespread scepticism regarding a cardboard building, Shigeru Ban stated that the strength of a building has nothing to do with the strength of the material: concrete buildings can be easily destroyed by earthquakes, whereas paper buildings cannot.



Over 90 cardboard tubes measuring 20 metres in length and with a diameter of 600 mm were used to build the cathedral; they are protected by a polycarbonate roof to allow natural light to flow in and they rest on a concrete base. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams give these tubes additional support.



Shigeru Ban’s design choices mean this “low cost” church made from fully recyclable material will not only stand up to earthquakes, it will also be protected from the elements.



The parishioners in Christchurch got their place of worship back in August; this “safe haven” may be transitional but it has actually been built to last 50 years, until the permament cathedral is rebuilt.

Project: Shigeru Ban, http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Year: 2013
Photography: © Bridgit Anderson
Link of cathedral: http://www.cardboardcathedral.org.nz