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Anglican Church Of New Zealand / AFP - Getty Images
An artist impression of a temporary cathedral made from cardboard which will be built in Christchurch, New Zealand to replace the historic Anglican cathedral destroyed in last year's earthquakes.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand's Anglican church will build a temporary cathedral made of cardboard in earthquake-devastated Christchurch as it works toward a permanent replacement for its 131-year old landmark destroyed last year.
The Victorian-era, Gothic-style cathedral, which dominated the city's central square, was badly damaged in the February 2011 quake, and is being demolished.
The replacement, an A-frame structure designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, will be built on the site of another historic church, which was also destroyed in the 6.3 magnitude quake.
PhotoBlog: New Zealand's quake-hit cathedral to be demolished
"The Transitional Cathedral is a symbol of hope for the future of this city as well as being sustainable and affordable," spokesman Richard Gray said Monday.
The cathedral's marketing and development manager Reverand Craig Dixon said the temporary cathedral would "excite people," the New Zealand Herald reported.
"As the cathedral walls are lowered, and it becomes a prayer space, a place of beauty and reflection, people can quite easily walk from [the site of the destroyed cathedral] to the transitional cathedral," Bishop Victoria Matthews said according to the Herald.
"Because that sense of pilgrimage is what we are all involved in here in Christchurch and Canterbury -- understanding that there has been loss but that a great new thing is happening ... we're invited to be part of that," she said.
City center still off limits
The temporary cathedral will be made of cardboard tubes, timber beams, structural steel and a concrete pad, and is intended to last more than 20 years. It is expected to be finished in time for Christmas services in December.
The cost of the new cathedral has reportedly been estimated at around NZ$5 million ($4.1 million).
Ban is known for his reinforced paper and cardboard structures and designed a similar "paper church" after the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan.
Mark Mitchell / AP
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch, collapsing buildings, cracking streets and causing multiple fatalities and serious injuries.
Christchurch's landmark cathedral was a favorite meeting place and tourist attraction, but any chance of saving it was ended by several strong aftershocks that caused more damage.
New Zealand faces a NZ$20 billion ($16.5 billion) bill to rebuild its second largest city, the center of which remains off limits more than a year after the quake. Whole blocks have been reduced to bare land.
However, thousands of tremors, some with magnitudes of up to 6, have delayed any concerted rebuilding.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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When it comes to God it should not matter if the prayer hall is made of card board or cobble stone.
It doesn't. But have you looked at the cost of building recently. The university I work at just built a new sports facility and they did it as cheaply as possible. The cost came in at over $40,000,000.00. We just got cost estimates on a new dorm - even using some modular components - the cost came in at over $60,000,000.00. When you are talking a large enough ediface to safely be used by numerous people, the cost is sometimes breathtaking. By the way, most churches, like the small parish I belong to, also serve as places for groups like AA, NA, ACOA, scout troops and numerous other groups use, often at no cost for meetings. My small parish also runs a soup kitchen weekly, a coat closet every fall and winter and on a roatating basis, house the homeless of our community. I like this cardboard building. It's beautiful and functional and will allow the church to get back to providing services while plans for a permanent ediface are made.
Maybe they can surround the cardboard cathedral with some cardboard housing, like we have on the streets of New York.
I have three daughters and seven grandchildren who live in Christchurch. Thankfully, none were injured although my ex lost her house. The widespread devastation and loss of life touched all. Even now, the aftershocks continue to scare the younger ones. It will be many years before CHCH returns to it's prior beauty.
I was visiting relatives in Christchurch for the first time and had been there for all of an hour before it hit. Missed my chance to see downtown and the cathedral (thanks, United, who got me there a day late). All I have is a picture with one of my rather ancient relatives standing in front of it.
Our minds and spirits are God's cathedrals and they cost nothing.
If you truely believe then the church is where you are on any given day. The building is of little consequence.
I sounds like they may need to consider relocating the whole city.
This is good, so when God decides to smite them again they won't be losing too much.
I have been lucky enough to have spent some time in Christchurch. It is one of the prettiest cities in the world. The cardboard cathedral looks beautiful. Best wishes to all there and I think that the natural beauty of the city comes through, buildings or not.
That is not a picture of the real Christchurch Cathedral. See
Hope in a box. I hope it stands for longer than 20 years and serves as a reminder of just how quickly life as we know it can change.
As usual, msnbc misrepresents thing. If it's got wood & steel, then it's not a cardboard building. All about the hype...
Kinda cool. However, where are the environmental whackos complaining that cardboard comes from trees?
The environmental whackos are incommunicado. Someone finally told them that plastics are a by-product of the oil refining process, so they can't use computers. And graphite is mined, so they can't use pencils.
I know we need places to center upon to meet and worship, but when it comes to Christ when people realize HE is Lord and God and Creator and the Body is the temple now, we do not need the structures, the point is that even when people seemingly perish the physical death Jesus Christ will raise us to new life either way, in ways we cannot see and heaven will be like earth re built,,,we do not need the structure the temple the religious structure broke in Jerusalem to forgive sin and that our Father and Creator who made all things built the bridge sin separated us from, and when Jesus ( God) built the temple again in 3 days, it was His body resurrected and ascended and repentance will re make all things new again born again of Spirit..This is a beautiful structure and wonderful looking church but even in death and destruction and natural disasters those that know Christ recognize the cause of death in sin will be gathered out form rubble,Jesus conquered the grave...lets be the church of Spirit and truth and not put so much emphasis on the buildings...let our love and actions and mercy be the good news, God came as a man full of grace and truth to forgive sin and make new and welcome home anyone anywhere on the planet and that now brought the temple to the hearts of men that they may see the kingdom of heaven , pieces and glimpses on earth but the yet to be so much more even amazing and so much hope to look forward to the big picture and completed wholeness of existence all gathered together again all the broken things replenished by the Lord our God Maker Father and Savior. Great design and great passion for the church though, great provisions Im sure ,no one know the thought and mind of God HIs path is beyond tracing out, so His ways are just not ours, just hoping to show some haters that the building is only a tool and there is more going o with disciples than meets the eye or one dimensional news coverage. Buildings are only the surface.
Someone please inform Schuller about this...... he could have saved a ton of money to give to the poor......... Oh wait what was I thinking, give money to the poor when I can have gold plated bathroom fixtures.