First listen to March 2nd 2012 to hear about the Christchurch cathedral in the Square.

　　Most of the Anglican churches were very badly damaged during the earthquakes. St John’s church, which was in Latimer Square, has already been demolished. The new cardboard cathedral will be built here. It is near the centre of the city and opposite the place where the CTV building used to be. More than 100 people died in the CTV building. The Bishop said that was one reason for choosing this site for the new cathedral. It will be a reminder of new life. Listen to March 14th 2011 to hear about the collapse of the CTV building.

　　The cardboard cathedral was the idea of Japanese architect Shigeru Ban who has donated his time and his expertise. It will be made of recycled cardboard tubes but will have wooden beams and steel inside to make it strong against earthquakes and wind.

　　It will seat 700 people and have good acoustics so it can be used for concerts as well as for church services. It should be strong enough to last for at least 20 years and maybe even 50 years.

　　It will cost $5.3m. $4m will come from insurance and the rest from fund-raising. Building will start very soon.

　　Click here to see a picture of what the cathedral will look like.

　　Vocabulary

　　site – place, land

　　donated – given

　　expertise – knowledge and skill

　　tube – wide pipe, hollow cylinder

　　beam – long piece of timber for support

　　acoustics – good sound

　　fund-raising – asking people for money