Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view looking south-west from Tuam Street to the fly tower at the old Odeon Theatre".
Part of the roof of the Odeon Theatre sits on the ground in an empty section on the corner of Manchester and Tuam Streets.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Tuam Street looking west, viewed from Alice in Videoland".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view looking towards the Odeon Theatre from the corner of Lichfield and Manchester Streets. SOL Square is on the right".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
The east side of the Odeon Theatre, showing the severe damage at the back of the theatre. Part of the roof sits on the ground in the section next door.
The east side of the Odeon Theatre, showing the severe damage at the back of the theatre. Shipping containers in front of the building protect Tuam Street in case it falls.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view from the roof of Alice in Videoland building".
A photograph of the east side of the Odeon Theatre, showing the severe damage at the back of the theatre. Part of the roof sits on the ground in the section next door.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Damage to the Odeon Theatre can be seen out the window.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Damage to the Odeon Theatre can be seen out the window.
An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "High Street runs across this photograph in the top third from the old Majestic Theatre at the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Streets to the intersection of Madras and St Asaph Street which is just beyond the edge of the photo".
An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The central city, with the Majestic Theatre in the centre of the photograph. Lichfield Street runs from bottom left diagonally up the photograph to the top right. The City Council building is prominent in the bottom left corner and Latimer Square in the top left corner".
This thesis revisits the topic of earthquake recovery in Christchurch City more than a decade after the Canterbury earthquakes. Despite promising visions of a community reconnected and a sustainable and liveable city, significant portions of the city’s core – the Red Zone – remain dilapidated and “eerily empty”. At the same time, new developments in other areas have proven to be alienated or underutilised. Currently, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s plans for the rebuilding highlight the delivery of more residential housing to re-populate the city centre. However, prevalent approaches to housing development in Christchurch are ineffective for building an inclusive and active community. Hence, the central inquiry of the thesis is how the development of housing complexes can revitalise the Red Zone within the Christchurch city centre. The inquiry has been carried out through a research-through-design methodology, recognising the importance of an in-depth investigation that is contextualised and combined with the intuition and embodied knowledge of the designer. The investigation focuses on a neglected site in the Red Zone in the heart of Christchurch city, with significant Victorian and Edwardian Baroque heritage buildings, including Odeon Theatre, Lawrie & Wilson Auctioneers, and Sol Square, owned by The Regional Council Environment Canterbury. The design inquiry argues, develops, and is carried through a place-assemblage lens to housing development for city recovery, which recognizes the significance of socially responsive architecture that explores urban renewal by forging connections within the social network. Therefore, place-assemblage criteria and methods for developing socially active and meaningful housing developments are identified. Firstly, this thesis argues that co-living housing models are more focused on people relations and collective identity than the dominant developer-driven housing rebuilds, as they prioritise conduits for interaction and shared social meaning and practices. Secondly, the adaptive reuse of derelict heritage structures is proposed to reinvigorate the urban fabric, as heritage is seen to be conceived as and from a social assemblage of people. The design is realised by the principles outlined in the ICOMOS charter, which involves incorporating the material histories of existing structures and preserving the intangible heritage of the site by ensuring the continuity of cultural practices. Lastly, design processes and methods are also vital for place-sensitive results, which pay attention to the site’s unique characteristics to engage with local stakeholders and communities. The research explores place-assemblage methods of photographic extraction, the drawing of story maps, precedent studies, assemblage maps, bricolages, and paper models, which show an assembly of layers that piece together the existing heritage, social conduits, urban commons and housing to conceptualise the social network within its place.