Cardboard Cathedral

We visited in early October , nice and unique church. There was a singing choir and service going on so we attended it. Made some donations , hope it goes to help in the rebuilding of the church building funds. Nice and interesting building structure.

What an interesting and different building. Well worth the visit. Free entry, and don't hassle you about donating. Super friendly staff, particularly the young lady (Kathleen was it?). Pleasure meeting you and it was great learning about the place and also other recommendations around town.

This is well worth a visit if you are in Christchurch. We visited last year. We did not buy a ticket in advance. Its not huge so it won't take up more than an hour or so, but there is a small shop and it is worth seeing. The staff were all very pleasant and welcoming.

A very impressive place to visit. Well worth a visit. One of the volunteers gave us a really good update on why it was built.

Innovative thinking at its peak.Attended Sunday mass here and the worship songs sung by the choir members is mesmerising 🤩Felt very peaceful and the sermon was great and meaningful. Very organised in each and every event . Hope they get enough funding for building the new church.great architecture.

The cardboard cathedral is a temporary home for the Anglican community of Christchurch since the original cathedral was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake. It is made of recyclable materials. It is now dwarved by the new stadium.

The architectural design is beautiful and unique! It’s worth visiting, and I encourage everyone to make a donation to the church.

This is an amazing church. It's unique and beautiful, but there's more here. It's open to the public, and I feel it is a church for the people. It's made of cardboard tubes, containers, and concrete and has a story. In 2011, Christchurch suffered a devastating earthquake, killing 185 people. As you walk around the church and the town, what I found is that it brought people together. Class, economics, and other things that divide people were put aside. At the end of the day, they were neighbors. The focus is on helping everyone. The church is actually called the Transitional Cathedral. I will add an information sheet about it.

We wanted to visit the Christchurch Cathedral which was severely damaged from the 2011 earthquake. We walked along the Avon River and immensely enjoyed the walk. Due to the funding issues it is taking much longer time for the reconstruction, however, around 2013 a transitional cathedral (aka Cardboard Cathedral) was built. A Japanese disaster architect built it pro bono. Wikipedia states: Materials used include 60-centimetre (24 in)-diameter cardboard tubes, timber and steel. The roof is of polycarbon, with eight shipping containers forming the walls. The foundation is concrete slab. The architect wanted the cardboard tubes to be the structural elements, but local manufacturers could not produce tubes thick enough and importing the cardboard was rejected. The 96 tubes, reinforced with laminated wood beams, are "coated with waterproof polyurethane and flame retardants" with two-inch gaps between them so that light can filter inside. Instead of a replacement rose window, the building has triangular pieces of stained glass. The building seats around 700 people. It serves as a conference venue as well as a cathedral. It was designed to last 50 years instead of being permanent. There are several volunteers working here and they really took their time explaining the history and how this church came to be now.

We went here after visiting the large but damaged cathedral downtown. I've visited many churches and cathedrals and this one really is unique. It was constructed fairly quickly after the earthquake damaged the other one and those who attended services there needed a place to worship. As a result, you see construction materials you don't normally see. The beams that make up the sides of the A frame roof are cardboard. Also, I'm not sure what they did with the stained glass window above the entrance, but it's different and it looks good. Really what I think of the Cardboard Cathedral is that it is probably the best environmentally friendly church I've ever seen. But more than that, the church shows the resilience of the people of Christchurch. It's really a sight to see. There's a museum/gift shop where you can learn a little about the church. If you are in the area, stop by and check it out!

It's been a few weeks since I visited the Cardboard Cathedral and I'm still pondering it. I've been to many architecturally interesting buildings but this one stands out. Even in the absence of its back story, it would still be an extraordinary building. Cardboard, shipping containers and plastic don't sound like the kinds of things you should build a cathedral out of. You'd expect such components would make it look cheap and tacky. On the contrary, it's a building that is both gorgeous and practical. It's open during the day so if possible go for a walk around inside to take a closer look. It's even more profound given it represents a new beginning for the community after the horrific earthquake of 2011 left the original cathedral a few blocks away so badly damaged it still lies in ruins. The Cardboard Cathedral is a deeply moving testament to the resilience and creativity of the people of Christchurch.

I must admit that I had only heard about this place and never seen any photos, so I expected a modest size Cathedral as it was only supposed to be temporary. Needless to say I was very surprised at it size. I really enjoyed the stain glass frontage, and as for the cardboard tube roof, seats, and alter. It was so refreshing to see new thinking for a new city. When visiting Christchurch, this IS a must see for it's innovation if nothing else.

After the reviews I'd read I was expecting something amazing made from cardboard but I wasn't amazed. I think it's an architectual feat for sure, but inspiring, not really. As with all churches (and bviously this is only my humble opinion) the money would be better spent elsewhere. Preserving old buildings as part of our heritage and history is important, but spending money on hugely expensive new church buildings? There is a strong body of local opinion that feels the money could have been spent restoring the old Cathedral but I feel money would be better spent on a community centre that encompasses everyone's needs.