It's taken 102 years, but the placing of a massive 22-tonne copper spire yesterday saw ?the world’s newest neo-gothic cathedral, Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral, finally completed.
Witnessing the skills of the various stonemasons was “the real joy” of the job, cathedral architect Michael Kennedy said today.
In a world of steel and concrete, the building is a reminder of age-old techniques and architectural methods, he said. Using a porphyry outer skin and a sandstone inner layer, with a stone rubble fill, as well as load-bearing masonry, the construction and architecture was a nod to traditional gothic methods, Kennedy said.
The completion of the building marks the end of a century-long effort, which kicked off in 1889 when English gothic architect John Pearson designed the cathedral. Money ran short, however, and it was not until 1906 that construction began. It was “money, money, money” that again stymied work on the building in the 60s, Kennedy said.
The heritage and conservatism- skilled architect Kennedy was pulled in to work on the job in 2000, and it was his work to ensure the building was in line with the Heritage Act.
“All the work we’ve been doing requires heritage approval and requires heritage architects,” he said. “I ensure the building is being built within the original design of the original architect.”
English stonemason Peter Dare had arrived in Brisbane in 1990 for the $39.5 million third stage of the cathedral, staying 16 years to oversee the work.
“These buildings are about the artists and craftsman who work on them. The skill of those people is the real joy, watching how they put things together. We had a master mason [Dare] who saw the whole construction. All of the stones were finished by hand,” Kennedy said.
Conceived in the God-fearing 19th Century, St John’s is a modern acknowledgement of age old architectural and construction techniques from the Roman times, he said.
