Hasta La Ideas

News: architects and critics have called for the earthquake-damaged Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand to be restored to its original gothic appearance after rejecting two contemporary proposals as “bizarre” and “architecturally illiterate”.

Writing for the New Zealand news website The Press, British architecture critic Kieran Long said the proposals by New Zealand firm Warren & Mahoney, which were unveiled by Anglican leaders last week, offered “a fairly mediocre architectural choice.”

If pressed to choose between the three options – a full restoration, a traditional redesign or an entirely new building – Long said he advocated the complete rebuilding of British architect George Gilbert Scott’s gothic revival cathedral, which was constructed in the second half of the nineteenth century and suffered major structural damage during Christchurch’s 2011 earthquake.

Above: traditional redesign proposal
Top: new building proposal 

“It is the only piece of architecture of these three that will have enduring meaning. It would speak of continuity, which is surely something valuable in a city like Christchurch today,” said Long, who was recently named senior curator of contemporary architecture at the V&A museum in London.

The traditional redesign proposed was “architecturally illiterate”, he noted. “The hexagonal facade treatment is bizarre and at odds with the ornamental logic of the gothic – the pattern and the rose window jar horribly.”

He also criticised the contemporary timber and glass proposal as “too generic to be interesting”, adding: “Its clumsy modern gothic is a kind of euphemistic architectural language that wants to appear rooted in history but in fact doesn’t take it very seriously.”

Above: original restoration proposal

Ellis Woodman, architecture critic for the Telegraph in London, also called for a straightforward restoration, dismissing the two alternatives as “painfully voguish”, while Australian architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly agreed that the “depth and mystery” of the original gothic cathedral should be preserved.

Professor Paul Walker from the University of Melbourne and Australian architectural writer Justine Clark added to the debate by saying reconstruction should be “given serious consideration”, but called on Anglican leaders to think more carefully about their options.

An online poll conducted by The Press found that, as of this morning, 30.6 per cent back the restoration option, 24.2 per cent are for the traditional redesign and 39.6 per cent approve of the contemporary proposal, while 5.6 per cent of voters say they want something else.

Above: photo by Searlo

Christchurch’s mayor Bob Parker backed the contemporary option, saying it “points us to where we need to be thinking as a city” while its lower costs and shorter estimated completion time also worked in its favour.

“I love the idea of something new. I think it’s about looking forward rather than looking back, and this design helps with that,” he said.

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has meanwhile designed a transitional cathedral for the city made from an A-shaped frame of cardboard tubes, which is due to be completed this spring.

Above: Shigeru Ban’s cardboard cathedral, photo by Shigeru Ban Architects

Earlier this year we featured a spiralling titanium-clad church completed in northern Norway and a proposal for a chapel in Miami shaped like a flowing gown – see all churches on Dezeen.

Images are by Warren & Mahoney except where stated.

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