Plans to build a spiral staircase into the proposed Christ Church Cathedral spire would give unparalleled view's of one of Australia's "prettiest cities", the project's architect Barney Collins believes.
The addition of the spire is a feature of a newly unveiled $15.5 million concept design for the cathedral and its precinct.
The present tower was added in the mid-1970s, but without the spire that was part of (Cathedral architect) John Horbury Hunt's original vision for the building.
As a result of damage sustained in the 1989 earthquake, 3.5 kilometres of stainless steel was used to reinforce the building from top to bottom.
Mr Collins said the building was now stronger and more suitable for a spire.
"That [the reinforcement] gave us the courage to propose that we put on the spire that was originally proposed by Horbury Hunt," he said.
"We have done exactly the same format and shape as that spire and plan to place it on top of this [tower]."
The 30-metre spire, which will double the cathedral's height, will be made from stainless steel.
"The space [on top of the cathedral tower] is not big so the spire was never going to have a big footprint," Mr Collins said.
"Our biggest challenges have been around the load sharing back down to the ground and how we do that. It's quite a significant engineering structure because it is mainly stainless steel but with a terracotta facade that will make it look like the brick it was originally slated to be although I think there's a bit of conjecture about that. I think it was either going to be copper or zinc."
Mr Collins said the addition of the spire was a natural next step for the cathedral, which had evolved over six or seven stages since 1883.
The latest concept design also includes a function centre, offices, archive and cafe in the cathedral's grounds.
Unlike a previous design, which proposed a more prominent glass wing on the site's southern Church Street frontage, the new Cathedral Centre is primarily an underground structure that blends into a glass pavilion at street level.
Cathedral Dean Katherine Bowyer said it was hoped the works would proceed over the next 10 to 15 years.
"This is part of a longer term project that the cathedral has been fundraising for over a number of years. When we come to the point of realising the plans there will be appeals to the wider community and we will be applying for grants as well," she said.
Dean Bowyer said through community consultation was an essential component of the process.
"These plans have already been revised because of listening to previous consultations. That's a really important thing for us," she said.
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