The structure proposed by Shigeru Ban, is intended to be built as temporary space using second-hand shipping containers, paper tube columns, and a standard membrane roof.
To create the structure, shipping containers are stacked in a checker pattern to allow an easy flow of movement at ground level, and to reduce the total number of containers. Lower containers are used as shops, chapels, and offices, while upper levels are used for storages and weight to tie down the roof. A viewing platform is imagined at the east end, allowing visitors to oversee repair work to the cathedral.
While not formally approved, Shigeru Ban's chapel would be made up of wood-wrapped recycled shipping containers and tall paper tubes tied together with wooden trusses and rope. Together, the elements would create a nave capable of holding dozens of people at at time.
The project has not been without controversy. Patrick Bouchain, a French designer, who has helped other major cultural institutions like the Centre Pompidou and the Louvre museum during times of renovation and expansion, told La Croix;
To create the structure, shipping containers are stacked in a checker pattern to allow an easy flow of movement at ground level, and to reduce the total number of containers. Lower containers are used as shops, chapels, and offices, while upper levels are used for storages and weight to tie down the roof. A viewing platform is imagined at the east end, allowing visitors to oversee repair work to the cathedral.
While not formally approved, Shigeru Ban's chapel would be made up of wood-wrapped recycled shipping containers and tall paper tubes tied together with wooden trusses and rope. Together, the elements would create a nave capable of holding dozens of people at at time.
The project has not been without controversy. Patrick Bouchain, a French designer, who has helped other major cultural institutions like the Centre Pompidou and the Louvre museum during times of renovation and expansion, told La Croix;
"Can such a space, which needs to instill calm and repose, be situated right next to a construction site? Will the square, which stands above the archaeological crypt, be able to take the weight of such a structure?"
The relief effort by Shigeru Ban Architects has a long trajectory of help similar acts in the aftermath of disasters, such as the 2011 earthquake in Japan, where 1800 units were installed in 50 evacuation shelters, 2013 post-Tsunami Housing in Sri Lanka and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, where 2000 units were provided in 37 evacuation centers.
