Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Wood from a very old house at 33 Canterbury Street in Lyttelton which was demolished. The owner has put the wood out on the street for anyone to help themselves".
An often overlooked aspect of urban housing development is the composition of the space between buildings; the streetscape. The pressures of suppressing suburban sprawl have seen housing developments respond by increasing residential density within more centralised city sites. Medium-density housing typologies are often used as urban infill in response to the challenge of accommodating an increasing population. A by-product of these renewed areas is the creation of new open space which serves as the fundamental public space for sociability to develop in communities. Street space should emphasise this public expression by encouraging social exchange and interaction. As a result, a neighbourhood owes its liveliness (or lack thereof) to its streets. The issue of density when applied to the urban housing landscape encompasses two major components: the occupancy of both the private realms, constituting the residential built form, and the public spaces that adjoins them, the streets. STREETSCAPE: dialogues of street + house. Continual transition between the realms of public and private (building and street space) enact active edges, giving way to public stimulation; the opportunity for experiencing other people. The advent of seeing and hearing other people in connection with daily comings and goings encourages social events to evolve, enhancing the notion of neighbourly conduct. Within New Zealand, and specifically in Christchurch as considered here, the compositions of current streetscapes lack the demeanor to really encourage and facilitate the idea of neighbourly interaction and public expression. Here lies the potential for new street design to significantly heighten the interplay of human activity. In response, this research project operates under the notion that the street spaces of urban residential areas are largely underutilised. This lack is particularly evident in the street. Street design should strive to produce spaces which stimulate the public life of residents. There exists a need to reassert eminence of the street as a space for vibrant neighbourhood life. This thesis employs design as a tool for researching and will involve using numerous concept generators to trigger the production of multiple scenarios. These scenarios are to explore the ways in which the streetscapes within medium-density urban communities could respond in the event of (re) development.
West side of Colombo Street looking south-ish, taken from near the corner of Armagh Street.
Emergency personnel searching for people trapped in the collapsed Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street. Smoke can be seen rising from the ruins.
Emergency personnel searching for people trapped in the collapsed Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street. Smoke can be seen rising from the ruins.
Emergency personnel searching for people trapped in the collapsed Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street. Smoke can be seen rising from the ruins.
Emergency personnel lifting a metal beam from the ruins of the Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street during their search for trapped people.
Blossom coming out by the Worcester Street bridge. File reference: CCL-2011-08-12-CanterburyPublic Library pre-demolition-041 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Colombo Street, looking north from Cathedral Square
A photograph of the front door of the O-Cha Thai Cuisine restaurant in the former Canterbury Times Building on Gloucester Street. USAR codes have been spray-painted on one of the windows.
Armagh Street Bridge.
New Regent Street
Samo Coffee Lounge signs decorate the front of The Loons Circus Theatre Company building on Canterbury Street in Lyttelton. The facade of the building is propped up by a timber frame and concrete blocks. Samo Coffee Lounge was run inside the Loons building by a group of former Lyttelton Coffee Company staff.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the former Canterbury Public Library on the corner of Hereford Street and Cambridge Terrace. The bricks in the corner of the building have crumbled and masonry can be seen on the footpath below. Wire fences have been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of emergency management personnel standing outside the Canterbury Trade Union Centre on Armagh Street. Emergency tape has been draped around the outside of the building and USAR codes have been spray-painted on a column near the entrance. Behind the building are several other earthquake-damaged buildings.
Smoke billowing from the remains of the collapsed Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street. Below, emergency personnel can be seen searching the rubble for trapped people.
A New Zealand Fire Service personnel member at the site of the collapsed Canterbury Television Building on Madras Street, holding a can of "V" energy drink.
The Canterbury Provincial Council buildings on Durham Street. The word "Clear" has been spray painted on one section of the building in pink spray paint.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, " A heart embroidered with 'be kind' at the site of the former Canterbury Hotel, Lyttelton".
Manchester Street looking north-ish, towards the intersection with Armagh Street.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking from Gloucester Street towards the Novotel".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking east along Gloucester Street".
Tuam Street opposite Alice's
Carparking Structure Tuam Street
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 28 February 2011 showing the plume of water from a broken water main. The plume appears to be in the vicinity of the Bridle Path. Photograph taken looking west from the corner of Canterbury and Ripon Streets. Repairing infrastructure following the Canterbury Earthquakes has proved to be a complex...
Damage to the Royal Hotel on the corner of Norwich Quay and Canterbury Street in Lyttelton. The columns next to the windows have cracked, indicating that there is major structural damage to the building. Wire fencing and cones have been used to create a cordon around the building.
A photograph of the Canterbury Times and Star building on Gloucester Street. USAR codes have been spray-painted on the door of Le Pot Au Feu and a window of O-Cha Thai. Broken glass and fallen masonry litters the footpath in front.
A photograph of a car on Gloucester Street which has been crushed by falling bricks from the Canterbury Times and Star building. There is a pile of bricks on the front of the car. A USAR team have spray-painted codes on a plywood board and wedged it into the back of the car.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 25 February 2011 showing the damage to the former Anglican Vicarage on Ripon Street Lyttelton. Taken from the footpath. Architect The sense of loss felt when confronted with the collapse or demolition of an historic building is compounded when that building is also a home. While the community sees...
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 25 February 2011 showing earthquake damage to the road, footpath and retaining wall on Norwich Quay. The photograph is taken from below the intersection of Norwich Quay and Canterbury Street looking east along Norwich Quay. Unlike most areas of Christchurch, land damage on the Port Hills was due ...