CTV Building

Corner of Cashel & Madras St.

Stella Cheersmith

The CTV building was a six-storey building in the Christchurch CBD that collapsed catastrophically in the earthquake on 22 February 2011, killing 115 people. It had been assessed by city council inspectors and a structural engineer after the earthquake on 4 September 2010, and was tenanted by several businesses, including local broadcast station Canterbury Television, an ESL school King's Education, a medical centre called The Clinic, and a non-profit counselling business Relationship Services. The deaths here made up approximately 60% of the overall fatalities in Christchurch on 22 February, and the CTV site became a symbol of the earthquake.

Constructed in the 1980s, it was not an old building, and the total collapse led to several investigations into its design and structural integrity. Family members of those who were killed issued a complaint with IPENZ (now Engineering New Zealand) against the engineers of the building, and the two Coronial Inquests were held, alongside the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry. Many of these investigations were drawn out – some lasting over a decade – and outcomes were often dissatisfying for those still grieving.

This page provides some context and general resources on the CTV building and those affected. For further information, explore the pages to the right, which offer more specific articles on the building itself, those who were inside at the time of the earthquake, and the investigations into its collapse.

New Zealand Defence Force Photograph of the CTV car park label

Credit: Grant Armishaw, New Zealand Defence Force, Navy Photography Unit. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/109102

Resources:

  • Christchurch Press 23 February 2011 | Emergency Edition - The special issue of The Press that was printed the day after the earthquake. The media outlet provided extensive coverage of the disaster, with reports from across the city. The CTV building is pictured on Page 5, and mentioned in several articles.
  • Christchurch Press 22 February 2012 | One Year On: In Memoriam Special Feature - The special issue of The Press printed on the first anniversary of the earthquake. This section contains a fourteen-page tribute to those who died.
    • Page 2 includes an article titled "For those we lost," as well as two maps detailing the deaths by location - either in the CBD or the suburbs. The names of the 115 victims of the CTV building are listed on the far right of the page.
    • Page 3 onwards contains biographies for every person who died in the earthquake, listed in alphabetical order. Each page contains the names of a number of CTV victims and their biographies.
  • Escape from the CTV building | RNZ - This eight minute audio file from Radio New Zealand National contains an interview with Nilgun Kulpe, a counsellor working on the top floor of the CTV building, who was rescued after it collapsed. Kulpe gives a first-hand account of her experiences in the building during the earthquake, and describes some of the immediate aftermath. This interview was recorded and broadcast on 23 February 2011, when many were still trapped in the rubble of the CTV building, and the number of those killed was not yet known.
  • Christchurch Press 9 April 2011: Section C, Page 3 | "DEATH ZONE" - This three-page article goes into the details of the CTV building and its collapse. It covers some of the immediate aftermath, naming some of the people who died as well as those who survived, those who are still missing, and those who could not be identified. It also speculates on the cause of the collapse, including statements from experts in structural engineering. Finally, it mentions the potential future for the building site, and touches on the Royal Commission of Inquiry set to take place. Continued on Page 4 and Page 5.
  • Police air their frustrations at inquiry into CTV response | RNZ - This report from Radio New Zealand National covers some of the information connected to the Coronial Inquest that followed the collapse of the CTV building. The audio file contains statements from Sergeant Michael Brooklands, the first police officer on the site. It also provides recordings of his calls to the Fire Department requesting emergency assistance on 22 February 2011.
  • Christchurch Press 31 March 2014: Section A, Page 1 | “The call: ‘Daddy I won’t make it’.” - This article tells the story of eight people who survived the initial collapse of the CTV building, but remained stuck beneath the wreckage, unable to be rescued. It discusses who they tried to contact and some of the words exchanged over text messages and phone calls. The article is continued on Page 5 | "Trapped in the rubble." which goes into the rescue attempts for those trapped, most of which were ultimately unsuccessful. It contains some key points from Coroner Gordon Matenga who led the Coronial Inquests and published a report on his findings - these are listed at the top of the page under “Rescue Lessons”. Page 5 also includes infographics of the victims’ locations and a timeline of “Signs of Life from the Rubble”. The bottom of the page has photographs and a short biography of each of the eight victims.
  • Collapse: One building, 115 deaths - A six-part podcast released on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake. The podcast investigates the tragedy of the CTV collapse, from the issues with the design and construction of the building through to the rescue attempts and extensive investigations following the 115 deaths. This page also contains an interactive graphic of the building’s layout and tenancy, an outline of the important people involved, a brief biography of each person who died in the building, a photo gallery of the site before and after the earthquake, and links to other relevant articles.
  • Apology: Christchurch 22 February 2011 Earthquake | Christchurch City Council - On behalf of the Christchurch City Council, Mayor Lianne Dalziel issued a formal apology to those affected by the Canterbury Earthquakes in February of 2020. She acknowledged the lives lost and mentioned the families of those who died in the CTV building, as well as people who were injured or traumatised by the collapse. This page contains a video of the apology, as well as the written statement in English and translated into Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Thai.
A notice on the fence outside the CTV site on Madras Street. The notice reads, "Please respect this site. In recognition of the special significance this site holds for the people of our city and all those affected by the earthquakes, the Christchurch City Council is working with Canterbury Museum to preserve aspects of our remembering. Tributes may be left at this site. Older tributes will be removed for archiving by the Canterbury Museum to become part of the city's memory of the Canterbury Earthquakes. Organic materials will be composted and used in the city's gardens. Canterbury Museum. Christchurch City Council".

Credit: BeckerFraserPhotos. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/187199

General Searches:

To search the CEISMIC collection for information and resources on the CTV building, get started with one of the links below.

  • To explore the CTV building tag across the entire archive, click here
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