Open Christchurch Day Attracted Thousand Visitors to the Temple - an Event Praised With Positive Feedback
The New Zealand charity Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making held a grand Open Christchurch weekend from 15-16 May. This included a selection of 46 representative buildings and monuments in Christchurch that were open to the public to visit and attracted more than 12,000 people in these two days event. Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island NZ temple was the only Buddhist temple to be selected and the two-day event attracted thousands of visitors including politicians, architects, designers, professionals, and families, all of whom spoke highly of the event.
South Island Buddha Mountain was selected for Open Christchurch because of several features: First, the four Bodhisattvas on the outer wall of the temple modeled after the Longmen Grottoes is a very creative and unique design. Second, the overall architecture of the temple is a perfect combination of Eastern arts and Western techniques. Third, the building is made of natural and original materials, reflecting the Buddhist virtue of cherishing simplicity. Fourth, The temple provides a quiet and beautiful leisure space in the midst of the busy city. Fifth, the design of the temple’s main shrine, which have the opens to the mountain design, shows the Buddha's compassion in guarding the people. Sixth, the building is self-sufficient and multi-purpose in terms of the facilities it offers.
Deputy Mayor of Christchurch Andrew Turner is delighted that the temple has been selected as one of the buildings for Open Christchurch, giving the general public the opportunity to visit and learn more about this unique and impressive building, and to regain a feeling of inner peace. Christchurch City Councilor Anne Galloway has been a supporter of the temple for many years, and the combination of the Open Christchurch event and Magnificence of Embroidery Exhibition opening ceremony was the perfect reason to attend. The exquisite and colorful embroidery works of the exhibition brought joy to the hearts of the visitors and injected a lot of positive energy into the city.
Since the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, Virginia Le Bas, former Police Superintendent for the Christchurch area found the building to be very creative, expressing the Ch’an of Buddhism and the spirit of "giving". She enjoyed the delicious meals at the Water Drop Teahouse, the art exhibits at the gallery, and the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere of the temple. Witnessing the growth of the temple, Virginia was delighted to see the temple being selected as one of the buildings to be visited at Open Christchurch, an event that allows more people to get to know the temple and feel the warmth it offers.
Retired architect Eric Dally frequently assesses the architecture, materials and features of different buildings. The Open Christchurch event was his first time to visit, and he was amazed that it was a Buddhist temple. He described the temple in simple and concise terms: contemporary, new, extraordinary, professional and joyful, and expressed that he would want to visit the temple again someday. Architectural designer Hayley Mclachlan wished to study how religion is expressed in art and integrated into the life of the community and she was amazed by the natural materials used by the temple and how innovative and effective they were in bringing out the beauty and practicality of the building, while still retaining a soft side to it. Hayley came early in the morning to visit the temple and was only going to stay for a few moments before moving on to her next stop. However, she was delighted by the architecture and the warm hospitality of the staff, and ended up staying for about an hour, feeling that her visit was very rewarding.
Open Christchurch was a great opportunity for locals to get to know and understand the FGS temple. Most of the people said they would come back to explore the many unknown areas and to feel the peaceful atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the city.