The Cathedral Plaza
The Cathedral Plaza has short yet a eventful history. The plot was bought by MGM Management Group and in 2006 construction began on a 75m tall tower designed to accommodate corporate offices. However, with the tower being erected only 8m adjacent to St Josef’s, the city’s catholic cathedral, it swiftly drew a backlash from the archdiocese. A lawsuit was launched against the tower and was largely backed by the city through protest marches from the public, official statements from the city mayor condemning the construction, and opposition from the wider Catholic Church – even drawing the concern of Pope Benedict XVI. Shortly after construction was complete, the archdiocese won the prolonged lawsuit, and the building permit of the Cathedral Plaza was declared illegal. A demolition order was put out by the high court, yet, over the course of the past decade, this demolition order has been persistently suspended. Just over ten years on form the tower’s completion, it remains unoccupied.
Rather than performing a complex demolition that would come at both a high fiscal and environmental cost, the proposal seeks to redeem the Cathedral Plaza by restoring the broken relationships it has with its surroundings, giving it a newfound place in the civic landscape of the city.
