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Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

<b>In the late 1960s the Wellington City Council surveyed all the commercial buildings in the city and marked nearly 200 as earthquake prone. The owners were given 15 years to either strengthen or demolish their buildings. The end result was mass demolition throughout the seventies and eighties.¹ Prompted by the Christchurch earthquakes, once again the council has published a list of over 630 earthquake prone buildings that need to be strengthened or demolished by 2030.²Of these earthquake prone buildings, the majority were built between 1880 and 1930, with 125 buildings appearing on the Wellington City Council Heritage Building List.³ This list accounts for a significant proportion of character buildings in the city. There is a danger that the aesthetic integrity of our city will be further damaged due to the urgent need to strengthen these buildings. Many of the building owners are resistant because of the high cost. By adapting these buildings to house co-workspaces, we can gain more than just the retention of the building’s heritage. The seismic upgrade provides the opportunity for the office space to be redesigned to suit changes in the ways we work. Through a design-based research approach this thesis proposes a framework that clarifies the process of adapting Wellington’s earthquake prone heritage buildings to accommodate co-working. This framework deals with the key concepts of program, structure and heritage. The framework is tested on one of Wellington’s earthquake prone heritage buildings, the Wellington Working Men’s Club, in order to demonstrate what can be gained from this strengthening process. ¹ Reid, J., “Hometown Boomtown,” in NZ On Screen (Wellington, 1983).</b> ² Wellington City Council, List of Earthquake Prone Buildings as at 06/03/2017. (Wellington: Absolutely Positively Wellington. 2017). ³ ibid. 

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to St Paul's School in Dallington. Large cracks can be seen in the surface of the asphalt. Silt from liquefaction is visible in front of the school buildings. Tape has been placed on the building to keep people away.

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

The sign reads: The CTV Building was headquarters of Canterbury Television (CTV) and also housed King’s Education language School, a medical clinic, Hair Consultants, Relationship Services and a nursing school. On February 22nd 2011 the building collapsed as a result of a major earthquake. Sadly, 115 people who were in the building lost their l...

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School sign". The sign reads, "This site is closed but the school is open. Avonside Girls High School has been temporarily relocated to Burnside High School, 151 Greers Road, Burnside 8053. Please do not enter this site - earthquake-damaged buildings".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph showcasing the intricate wooden ceiling of the Cranmer Court building's octagonal corner section. Although designed to house a book depot, the room was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building. This part of the building housed Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph showcasing the intricate wooden ceiling of the Cranmer Court building's octagonal corner section. Although designed to house a book depot, the room was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building. This part of the building housed Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

The demand for a new approach to safeguarding New Zealand’s endangered historic buildings was identified as a result of the recent increase in building code and strengthening requirements following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. The Wellington City Council identified 266 heritage buildings in the city that must be either strengthened or demolished to address these increased requirements. This thesis explores this threat as an opportunity for researching how contemporary design interventions can be challenged to both strengthen and become active participants in the ongoing history of New Zealand’s potentially endangered historic buildings. This thesis challenges the current approach of completely ‘restoring’ 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand, to develop techniques that structurally reinforce historic buildings while inviting the progressive weathering of a building to remain as a testament to its history. This thesis proposes a structural intervention that is responsive to the progressive history of historic buildings, simultaneously introducing a contemporary structural intervention that both participates in and compliments the progressive historic transformations of the vehicle. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the life of a building, while fully restored buildings only enable visitors to witness the original form of the building. This thesis proposes a model for contemporary intervention within historic buildings that draws a design intervention from seismic strengthening.The notion of layering is explored as a design approach to incorporate the contemporary with the historic as an additional layer of exposed on-going history, thereby further exposing the layers of history evident within New Zealand’s historic buildings. This thesis combines layering theories of architects Louis Kahn and Carlo Scarpa with related theories of installation artist Mary Miss. The theoretical imperatives of Scarpa and Kahn are explored as a tool of engagement for the junction between the contemporary and historic building materials, and the work of Marry Miss is explored as a design approach for developing a contemporary intervention that references the layered historic building while inviting new means of occupancy between layers. The selected vehicle for the design research investigation is the Albemarle Hotel on Ghuznee Street in Wellington. The techniques proposed in this thesis to strengthen the Albemarle Hotel suggest an approach that might be applied to New Zealand’s wider body of historic buildings that constitute New Zealand’s heritage fabric, ultimately protecting them from demolition while preserving additional layers of their historic narratives. Over all the design research experiments suggest that contemporary interventions derived from structural strengthening may be a viable and cost-effective method of re-inhabiting New Zealand’s endangered heritage buildings, avoiding demolition and securing New Zealand’s heritage for future generations. Research Questions: This thesis challenges the current economically unsustainable approach of laterally reinforcing and completely ‘restoring’ 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the on-going life of a building. Can the weathered state of New Zealand's heritage buildings be proactively retained and celebrated as witnesses to their history? Can new lateral reinforcing requirements be conceived as active participants in revealing the on-going history of New Zealand's historic buildings?

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A black and white, night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damage to the building that housed the LSI English Language School on Peterborough Street. The side wall where bricks have fallen from has been covered up, and the area around the building has been cordoned off. Piles of bricks are still visible on the site.