Cardboard Cathedral
Christchurch, New Zealand · 2013
Photo · Photo by Stephen Goodenough
A precedent for innovative material use and geometric clarity, demonstrating how cardboard tubes and polycarbonate sheeting can create a monumental, light-filled civic and spiritual space.
Materials
- cardboard-tubes
- polycarbonate-sheeting
- stained-glass
- concrete
- steel
Visual identifiers
- cardboard-tubes
- triangular-a-frame
- stained-glass-facade
- polycarbonate-roofing
- shigeru-ban
Style tags
- structural-expressionism
- humanist
- sustainable
Visual tags
- civic-architecture
- temporary-structure
- translucent-envelope
- stained-glass
- innovative-materials
- cathedral
- Geometry
- An equilateral triangular A-frame structure composed of parallel cylindrical tubes rising to a ridge, enclosing a triangular stained-glass facade divided into smaller triangular panes.
- Facade system
- Triangular stained-glass curtain wall set within a structural cardboard and steel frame, topped with a translucent polycarbonate skin.
- Structural guess
- A-frame structure composed of structural cardboard tubes reinforced internally with laminated wood beams and steel tie rods, anchored to a concrete foundation.
- Spatial scale
- A monumental civic scale, with the triangular peak rising approximately six stories high over a wide, pedestrian-scaled entrance.
- Lighting
- Soft, ambient twilight sky contrasting with warm, glowing interior light that illuminates the cardboard structure and projects through the stained-glass facade.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and uplifting, where the warmth of the cardboard tubes and colorful stained glass creates an inviting sanctuary at dusk.
- Environmental context
- Set back from a public street behind a low stone wall and iron fence, flanked by mature deciduous trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building presents an open, welcoming ground-level threshold that transitions directly from an outdoor paved plaza into a luminous, soaring interior volume framed by warm cardboard tubes.
- Composition rhythm
- A symmetrical A-frame composition balanced by the organic form of a large tree on the right, with a repeating triangular grid pattern in the stained-glass window.
- Style reading
- Eco-humanist structural expressionism
- Program
- Cathedral / Community Hall
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- cardboard-tubes, polycarbonate-sheeting, stained-glass, concrete, steel
- Visual identifiers
- cardboard-tubes, triangular-a-frame, stained-glass-facade, polycarbonate-roofing, shigeru-ban
- Style tags
- structural-expressionism, humanist, sustainable
- Visual tags
- civic-architecture, temporary-structure, translucent-envelope, stained-glass, innovative-materials, cathedral
- Geometry
- An equilateral triangular A-frame structure composed of parallel cylindrical tubes rising to a ridge, enclosing a triangular stained-glass facade divided into smaller triangular panes.
- Facade system
- Triangular stained-glass curtain wall set within a structural cardboard and steel frame, topped with a translucent polycarbonate skin.
- Structural guess
- A-frame structure composed of structural cardboard tubes reinforced internally with laminated wood beams and steel tie rods, anchored to a concrete foundation.
- Spatial scale
- A monumental civic scale, with the triangular peak rising approximately six stories high over a wide, pedestrian-scaled entrance.
- Lighting
- Soft, ambient twilight sky contrasting with warm, glowing interior light that illuminates the cardboard structure and projects through the stained-glass facade.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and uplifting, where the warmth of the cardboard tubes and colorful stained glass creates an inviting sanctuary at dusk.
- Environmental context
- Set back from a public street behind a low stone wall and iron fence, flanked by mature deciduous trees.
- Spatial experience
- The building presents an open, welcoming ground-level threshold that transitions directly from an outdoor paved plaza into a luminous, soaring interior volume framed by warm cardboard tubes.
- Composition rhythm
- A symmetrical A-frame composition balanced by the organic form of a large tree on the right, with a repeating triangular grid pattern in the stained-glass window.
- Style reading
- Eco-humanist structural expressionism
- Program
- Cathedral / Community Hall
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture