In 2020, BEFORM carried out a meaningful collaboration to shed light on the fight against the ever-increasing amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean. The project was carried out in collaboration with Hope Cathedral, today located in the maritime environment at Isegran in Fredrikstad.
What is Hope Cathedral?
Hope Cathedral is a symbol of hope through cooperation, and functions as a gathering place for people across different ages, nationalities and beliefs. With inspiration from traditional Norwegian stave churches, the cathedral stretches 14 meters above the ground in all the colors of the rainbow.
Plastic waste from the ocean used in the construction
It is estimated that the world’s oceans are polluted with 51 trillion pieces of plastic and microplastic with a total weight of 269,000 metric tonnes. These numbers are constantly increasing and are expected to double by the year 2030.
Hope Cathedral is focused on turning the bad into something good, and has therefore chosen to use plastic from the sea in their construction. With the vision of being a sustainable art project, old fishing boxes have been used to construct the roof of the cathedral. BEFORM has washed, cut and ground up close to 1,000 fish boxes, as well as mixed in antioxidants, UV stabilizer, repair additive and dye. This work has led to ceiling tiles in 40 different colors.
Furthermore, BEFORM has assisted with the design, and constructed and produced the forming tools used in this project. We have adjusted the translucency and minimized foreign substances. Plastic waste that ended up in the sea by accident is used as filler in the material.
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The cathedral is emblazoned with the symbol of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – a global plan to tackle the most important challenges facing the world, including poverty, hunger, inequality, climate change and environmental destruction. Consisting of 17 main goals and 169 sub-goals, the plan constitutes a direction for the countries, businesses and civil societies. These goals are designed to contribute to a better and fairer world for everyone. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved by 2030.
BEFORM fully supports the UN’s sustainability goals, and assists international and local organizations in fighting poverty, inequalities and stopping climate change. Read more about BEFORM’s commitment to sustainability here.
Watch this video on how Hope Cathedral was created. Music in this video was specially composed for Hope Cathedral by artist Helene Bøksle.