
Introduction In 2011 Christchurch city centre was partially destroyed by an earthquake. Government-led anchor projects were tasked with bringing Christchurch back from rubble. After a period of 7 years out of 16 proposed projects, 10 are already over time for their initial completion dates and the ones completed, are under scrutiny for failing to deliver their expected outcome.
A photograph of an earthquake-damaged building on the corner of Colombo Street and St Asaph Street. The walls of the top storey of the building have crumbled, and bricks and other rubble have fallen onto the footpath and road below. In the background are many other earthquake-damaged buildings. Wire fencing and police tape have been placed across the street as a cordon.
A photograph looking east down Dundas Street. Piles of twisted steel reinforcement have been placed on both sides of the street. Several earthquake-damaged cars, recovered from the Smiths City car park, have been stacked on the left. On the other side of the street is an excavator grapple and bucket. In the distance two excavators are sorting through the rubble.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street. The tower on the right has crumbled and the masonry has fallen to the pavement below. A car has been crushed by the fallen rubble. The dome of the left tower has collapsed and the cross at the top of the building is on a lean.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Iconic Bar and the former Christchurch City Council offices on Manchester Street. The outer walls of the Council offices and the top storey of Iconic have collapsed, exposing the insides of the buildings. The bricks and other rubble have been cleared from the footpath in front. USAR codes have been spray-painted next to the entrance of Iconic.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Stone Chamber of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings on Durham Street North. Large sections of the Chamber have collapsed and the masonry and other rubble has spilled onto the footpath in front. To the left scaffolding constructed up the side of the building has also collapsed and twisted out of shape. Wire fences have been placed along the side of the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The photograph was taken using a cellphone camera. The top of the tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The rubble from the tower has been cleared and a tarpaulin has been placed over the top of the broken tower. Tyres have been placed on the tarpaulin to hold it down. A temporary roof has also been constructed over the tower to keep out the rain.
A photograph submitted by Gaynor James to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "DTZ building going, 20 July 2011. A small crowd watches the demolition …There is an eerie silence- no excited buzz – people watching yet another part of their history turning into rubble. The wrecking ball, delicately positioned, drops and is followed by the cracking and rending of floor after floor and the debris tumbles down … It starts to clear and an extraordinary sight greets us. Hundreds and hundreds of sheets of paper drift down like giant confetti.".
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The photograph was taken using a cellphone camera. The top of the tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The rubble from the tower has been cleared and a tarpaulin has been placed over the top of the broken tower. Tyres have been placed on the tarpaulin to hold it down. A temporary roof has also been constructed over the tower to keep out the rain. Two vehicles are parked in front.
On a walk around the city to catch up on what is happening May 29, 2014 Christchurch New Zealand. Demolition work on Christchurch's "distinctive" former civic building is under way. The category-2 heritage building was designed by G A J Hart and opened in 1939 as the Miller's department store. It featured the South Island's first escalator, w...
Demolition work on Christchurch's "distinctive" former civic building and the Front Runner store. On a walk around Christchurch May 9, 2013 New Zealand. Demolition work on Christchurch's "distinctive" former civic building is under way. The category-2 heritage building was designed by G A J Hart and opened in 1939 as the Miller's department s...
A photograph of emergency management personnel walking in a line down Lichfield Street towards the intersection of Madras Street . The members in white hazmat suits are holding their hands over their heads while members of the New Zealand Army take the lead and follow from behind. Rubble from several earthquake-damaged buildings has scattered across the street to the right. Plastic fencing has been placed along the left side of the road as a cordon. In the background there are several earthquake-damaged buildings along Lichfield Street.
The Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-2011 wrought ruptures in not only the physical landscape of Canterbury and Christchurch’s material form, but also in its social, economic, and political fabrics and the lives of Christchurch inhabitants. In the years that followed, the widespread demolition of the CBD that followed the earthquakes produced a bleak landscape of grey rubble punctuated by damaged, abandoned buildings. It was into this post-earthquake landscape that Gap Filler and other ‘transitional’ organisations inserted playful, creative, experimental projects to bring life and energy back into the CBD. This thesis examines those interventions and the development of the ‘Transitional Movement’ between July 2013 and June 2015 via the methods of walking interviews and participant observation. This critical period in Christchurch’s recovery serves as an example of what happens when do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism is done at scale across the CBD and what urban experimentation can offer city-making. Through an understanding of space as produced, informed by Lefebvre’s thinking, I explore how these creative urban interventions manifested a different temporality to orthodox planning and demonstrate how the ‘soft’ politics of these interventions contain the potential for gentrification and also a more radical politics of the city, by creating an opening space for difference.