116 | Historic design, modern methods The various structures on the roof each have different significance in the Hindu religion. COMMUNITY Christchurch Hindu Temple: BG Cooke T T Virginia Wright A new Hindu Temple is under construction on five hectares of rural land in Templeton on the outskirts of Christchurch. Hinduism is steeped in history going back 1000 years, and the new temple is being built according to an architecture that has also been around for 1000 years, while still having to meet New Zealand’s current building code. Anyone who was in Christchurch early in 2011 knows first-hand why New Zealand’s seismic regulations are the way they are, and bringing them together with the age-old design of the temple has resulted in a number of innovative, pre-fabricated work-arounds that are as time-saving for the build as they are clever. Sandheep Kumar initiated the Temple Project and helped secure the land in Templeton. He has been a key member of the team, managing the build from the beginning. “Normally, Hindu temples around the world are built with stone, or bricks and mortar. But what we’re doing here is building a structure that’s like a massive warehouse shed, with steel and concrete columns that will take the load of the pre-fabricated structures that will come from India,” Sandheep explains. “They won’t be made of bricks and mortar, they’re making them with glass fibrereinforced polymer. All of our architectural features are pre-made out of this special type of lightweight concrete, and they’ll come as kitsets ready to cover all the pre-cast concrete walls, but unless you go and knock on them you’d never know.” This extensive use of pre-fabricated elements to give the building its lightweight cladding is why Sandheep was confident that with only 40% of the build done they would have the 2000sqm building completed within six months. “We’re working towards being off-grid, *ƻāåƵåƖijŜœ $ĎőŜʼnijƖijŜœ ijƵijʼn΄ ŜœƊƖƂƞāƖijŜœ ĎƖåijœijœħ΄ÎåʼnʼnƊ ¯ƂåœƊſŜƂƖåƖijŜœ΄ ĮƂijƊƖāĮƞƂāĮ΄π΄ ƞāņʼnåœĈ΄ ͬ̅̈ͭ΄̈̍̆̆̇̅̅΄΄N΄΄ƶƶƶ͟ĈijħħĎƂƊœdž͟āŜő΄΄ åĈőijœοĈijħħĎƂƊœdž͟āŜő Smarter | Faster | Better Proudly supporting Christchurch Hindu Temple 0800 FACTION (322 846) www.faction.nz info@faction.nz • Site Level Surveys • Construction Setouts • Building Location • Resource Consent • Subdivisions Certificates Applications Proudly supporting the Christchurch Hindu Temple 2 Stoneleigh Drive, Rolleston | Ph 0800 44 55 20 At ProBuild ITM we offer an extensive range of building supplies covering trade and DIY requirements discountdrainage.co.nz Drainage solutions for builders. On Time. On Budget. 0800 223 332 admin@discountdrainage.co.nz which added a lot of complications in terms of wanting to be self-sustaining. We’ve done all the earthworks, which included treatment plants for our wastewater so that we can recycle a lot of it and we’ve got a bore for water,” he says. “We’re connected to power, but we’re working towards having solar to supply up to 60 Amps of power to start with, with some already in place when we open, and fundraising happening to increase that when we can.” The various external elements have all been hand-sculptured, from the numerous glazed archways evenly spaced around the four walls of the building to the traditionally crafted, ornate mini-parapets and soffits defining the edge of the roof. The various structures on the roof each have different significance in the Hindu religion. The Hindu temple is home to various Hindu idols, and their positions are marked externally by domes on the roof. The most imposing multi-leveled dome, for example, marks both the entrance to the building and the position of Ganesh, the Hindu God worshipped across all Hindu traditions as a symbol of wisdom and intellect, guardian of entrances and knowledge. All the domes, big or small, each marking the placement of an idol, have been placed according to the temple building rule book, which is used around the world with measurements adjusted according to the precise orientation of the land being built on. The requirements going back 1000 years, further add to the complexity of the build. Each dome is topped with a copper Kalash (a sacred vessel) tooled with precious metals and stones, explains Sandheep. “The idea of the Kalash is that it transfers the electrical energy from the sky when we have rain through the copper piping to nourish the idol below, which is only ever made of the stone from an Indian mountain range that is known to conduct electricity.” The idols function as a sort of spiritual battery, each with a different purpose or influence, with their energy available to recharge worshippers when they enter the temple, and particularly when they walk around them. Providing the copper conduits for each of the domes to the idols below was just one of the additional challenges for builders BG Cooke, who were part of the discussions early on.
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