Opening the Cloister. Re-Integrate Church with Wider Community for Christchurch

Abstract

This thesis focuses on church design for the Christchurch rebuild. Churches all over New Zealand, in particular those in rural areas, have had their role as places of congregation reduced and are seen only as historically significant buildings. These churches have become socially and culturally isolated from the rest of the city. Throughout history, churches have fostered a sense of community. In recent years, churches’ identity has tended to be misinterpreted because of changes in society’s conditions and industrial growth. Today, society comprises vibrant liveable diversity and community, requiring a built environment that enhances greater social interaction, serving people’s needs. In Christchurch, the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2011 has tragically reduced the numbers of churches. Most central city churches have been demolished. The costs of maintaining these historical buildings had been rising, meaning the churches found it harder to develop buildings that can respond to the contemporary social conditions. The shift in social conditions and in the demographics of Christchurch suggests that there is an incongruent relationship between the church congregations and the community outside the church. The opportunity to propose a church that embodies the notion of gathering is conceivable at a time when many Christchurch central churches are requiring designers to re-think possible outcomes for church congregations and for the Christchurch community. This thesis seeks an architectural model that would enhance the sense of ‘unity’ in the community,and allow churches to intergrate with the outside community. To address these possible outcomes, the cloister typology has been studied as a symbol of church community. The thesis investigates architectural types as tools to provide the architectural model of ‘gathering’ spaces for churches. The design methodology explores possible models for provision of community services, using a cloister as a key design component. The new interpretation meaning of the ‘open’ cloister is explored to allow the church’s architecture to blend with the diverse communities of Christchurch. An ‘opening’ strategy is proposed in this thesis. It is a design strategy that can be deployed to integrate the Christchurch community and the inner city’s church congregation. The ‘opening’ of the is intended to blend the urban with the pastoral condition, culture with leisure spaces and the cloistered community with urban density.