One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 15 June 2011 showing earthquake damage to the former Canterbury Hotel and adjoining row of shops on Oxford Street. This photograph was taken on Oxford Street and shows the collapsed façade of the row of shops behind safety fencing, the interior of the building is exposed. The design of many older...
A felt heart sewn to the wire fence in front of the Lyttelton Borough Council Chambers Building, a pile of bricks fallen from which are visible on the street. The heart provides a bit of beauty and hope to an otherwise depressing scene, the words "say yes often" embroided on the felt.
The west side of the British Hotel on Oxford Street. The brick wall at the top of the building has crumbled onto the street below, bringing part of the roof down with it. Wire fencing has been used to create a cordon around the building.
Fences made from old metal bed heads enclosing the space of Gap Filler's "Film in the Gap" project in Beckenham. The audience are seated on folding chairs, garden swing seats and an antique bed as they watch Lyttelton band, Runaround Sue, perform. In the background, a yellow porta-loo provides sanitary facilities for the audience.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 27 April 2011 showing damage to the London Street Restaurant. Photograph taken looking west from the intersection of London Street with Oxford Street and Sumner Road. Adaptability and quick thinking has become a key part of business survival in post earthquake Canterbury. The owner of this bui...
One portrait colour digital photograph taken on 23 July 2011 showing the artwork by Trent Hiles erected on the site of the Harbourlight Theatre on London Street. The artwork presents part of James K Baxter's poem 'High Country Weather' using the international code of signal flags. The artwork was installed as a Gap Filler project. The artwork r...
An image from a Navy Today April 2011 article titled, "Project Protector Makes a Difference". The image shows the HMNZS Pukaki, Otago and Canterbury alongside each other at the Lyttelton Port. The earthquake response was the first time one ship of each Project Protector class had been in a New Zealand port together (outside of the naval base).
A panoramic photograph looking south out of a window of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Building. Notable landmarks include: New Regent Street and the Rendezvous Hotel on the left side of the photograph; the Novotel in the centre; the Lyttelton Times building and the Forsyth Barr building to the right; and the Hotel Grand Chancellor in the distance.
One portrait colour digital photograph taken on 19 November 2011 showing a poster advertising the planned 2011 Census which was scheduled for Tuesday 8 March 2011. The census was abandoned because of the 22 February 2011 Earthquake. The poster was located in the window of the Lyttelton Information Centre on Oxford Street. The building was closed...
The Ground Culinary Centre on the corner of London and Canterbury Streets. One of the side walls has crumbled, bricks lying on the footpath where they fell. Tape and cones have been used to create a cordon around the building.
Damage to the Fuze Restaurant and Cafe on the corner of Oxford Street and Norwich Quay. The facade around the top of the building has crumbled into the street below. Wire fencing has been used to create a cordon around the building.
Damaged buildings along London Street. Wire fencing has been used to keep people away. To the left is the Volcano Cafe, centre the Lava Bar and on the right is a fish and chip shop. A pile of rubble lies on the street from the damaged buildings.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 8 June 2011 showing the site of the Volcano Restaurant on the corner of London and Canterbury Streets. The site is fenced with temporary fencing. The concrete of the floor of the building is visible. On the fence are two artworks, both made from woollen blankets. One, made from a cream blanket is ...
St John's Church on Winchester Street in Lyttelton. The tower has broken and crumbled, and its roof is visible on the ground to the right. Bricks and broken wood are lying in a pile on the footpath. A red sticker has been placed on the front door as well as a sign reading "No Entry". Fencing has been placed along the footpath to warn people off.
Allison, one of the heart stitchers outside the library. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
Maria, one of the heart stitchers outside the library. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
Felt hearts in a basket to be handed out. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
A view down London Street in Lyttelton. The road has been closed to traffic because of the unstable and damaged buildings in the area. On the left is the Empire Hotel where bracing has been placed on the front of the building. On the right is a shipping container in front of the damaged Wunderbar. The word 'coffee' has been spray painted on the side.
Lyttelton band, Runaround Sue, performing at Gap Filler's "Film in the Gap!" project in Beckenham. Gap Filler have enclosed one side of the site with a fence made of old metal bed heads. The fence has been decorated with fairy lights. Other decorations to the project sight includes the brightly coloured bunting above the audience, which is attached to the wall of Beckenham's Mitre 10.
Jacinda's daughter Sky, a heart stitching apprentice outside the library wearing a heart in her hair. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 14 July 2011 showing the demolition of the former Canterbury Hotel on the corner of Norwich Quay and Oxford Street. At the time of demolition the ground floor was occupied by the Magma Gallery. Also visible in the photograph are 'Tin Palace' and a former office building which shows repairs made by...
A year after the first earthquake on 4 September 2010, aftershocks continue to be felt in Canterbury, and they're not always seismic ones. When buildings collapse or are cordoned off, or even just closed for repairs - what happens to the lives and livelihoods of those who used to fill them with noise and energy? Kris Vavasour returns to Lyttelton to catch up with performers and friends, to hear about life in an altered landscape.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 27 April 2011 showing the demolition of the Royal Hotel on the corner of Norwich Quay and Canterbury Street. The hotel building shown in this photograph was the third on the site since 1851. It was built in 1916 as a replacement for the first Royal Hotel. The Royal Hotel was established in 1870 a...
Damaged buildings along London Street. Wire fencing has been used to keep people away. From the left are the Volcano Cafe, the Lava Bar, a fish and chip shop, and the Coastal Living Design Store. Rubble from the side of the Volcano Cafe can be seen along the Canterbury Street footpath.
Despite a hasty retreat from its iconic building in Christchurch's Square following the February earthquake, 'The Press', is in celebration mode. It's 150 years since the paper began with a six page edition that sold for six pence. It's first pages warned of the crippling cost of a new tunnel and rail line connecting Lyttelton to Christchurch, and on the back, a for sale ad for 100,000 gorse plants! Deb Nation finds the paper celebrated their centenary 50 years earlier, with memories of pigeon post and paper boys.
An audio documentary created by Kris Vavasour about the multitude of challenge the musicians, performers and venue owners in Lyttelton face in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes. All songs are from the 'Harbour Union' album (2011), in alphabetical order: 'Even Keel' (Lindon Puffin); 'Ghost of this Town' (Marlon Williams); 'How Lucky You Are' (Delaney Davidson & Marlon Williams); 'Human Enough' (Lindon Puffin); 'It's So Good' (Delaney Davidson); 'Little Mountain Town' (Marlon Williams); 'Rocking Bell' (Adam McGrath); 'The Waterside' (Adam McGrath).
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 30 June 2011 showing earthquake damage to the former Convent of Our Lady of Mercy and to the Catholic Church of St Joseph the Worker. Photograph taken from St. Davids Street The sense of loss felt when confronted with the collapse or demolition of an historic building is compounded when that bui...
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 6 September 2011 showing demolition of the former Convent of Our Lady of Mercy. St Mary's School, run by the Sisters of Mercy, was also housed in this building. At the time of the 4 September 2010 earthquake the building was a private residence. Three years after the 2010-2011 earthquakes there a...
On 22 February 2011,a magnitude Mw 6.3 earthquake occurred with an epicenter located near Lyttelton at about 10km from Christchurch in Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand (Figure 1). Since this earthquake occurred in the midst of the aftershock activity which had continued since the 4 September 2010 Darfield Earthquake occurrence, it was considered to be an aftershock of the initial earthquake. Because of the short distance to the city and the shallower depth of the epicenter, this earthquake caused more significant damage to pipelines, traffic facilities, residential houses/properties and multi-story buildings in the central business district than the September 2010 Darfield Earthquake in spite of its smaller earthquake magnitude. Unfortunately, this earthquake resulted in significant number of casualties due to the collapse of multi-story buildings and unreinforced masonry structures in the city center of Christchurch. As of 4 April, 172 casualties were reported and the final death toll is expected to be 181. While it is extremely regrettable that Christchurch suffered a terrible number of victims, civil and geotechnical engineers have this hard-to-find opportunity to learn the response of real ground from two gigantic earthquakes which occurred in less than six months from each other. From geotechnical engineering point of view, it is interesting to discuss the widespread liquefaction in natural sediments, repeated liquefaction within short period and further damage to earth structures which have been damaged in the previous earthquake. Following the earthquake, an intensive geotechnical reconnaissance was conducted to capture evidence and perishable data from this event. The team included the following members: Misko Cubrinovski (University of Canterbury, NZ, Team Leader), Susumu Yasuda (Tokyo Denki University, Japan, JGS Team Leader), Rolando Orense (University of Auckland, NZ), Kohji Tokimatsu (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan), Ryosuke Uzuoka (Tokushima University, Japan), Takashi Kiyota (University of Tokyo, Japan), Yasuyo Hosono (Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan) and Suguru Yamada (University of Tokyo, Japan).
Six months after the 4 September 2010 Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake, a Mw 6.2 Christchurch (Lyttelton) aftershock struck Christchurch on the 22 February 2011. This earthquake was centred approximately 10km south-east of the Christchurch CBD at a shallow depth of 5km, resulting in intense seismic shaking within the Christchurch central business district (CBD). Unlike the 4 Sept earthquake when limited-to-moderate damage was observed in engineered reinforced concrete (RC) buildings [35], in the 22 February event a high number of RC Buildings in the Christchurch CBD (16.2 % out of 833) were severely damaged. There were 182 fatalities, 135 of which were the unfortunate consequences of the complete collapse of two mid-rise RC buildings. This paper describes immediate observations of damage to RC buildings in the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Some preliminary lessons are highlighted and discussed in light of the observed performance of the RC building stock. Damage statistics and typical damage patterns are presented for various configurations and lateral resisting systems. Data was collated predominantly from first-hand post-earthquake reconnaissance observations by the authors, complemented with detailed assessment of the structural drawings of critical buildings and the observed behaviour. Overall, the 22 February 2011 Mw 6.2 Christchurch earthquake was a particularly severe test for both modern seismically-designed and existing non-ductile RC buildings. The sequence of earthquakes since the 4 Sept 2010, particularly the 22 Feb event has confirmed old lessons and brought to life new critical ones, highlighting some urgent action required to remedy structural deficiencies in both existing and “modern” buildings. Given the major social and economic impact of the earthquakes to a country with strong seismic engineering tradition, no doubt some aspects of the seismic design will be improved based on the lessons from Christchurch. The bar needs to and can be raised, starting with a strong endorsement of new damage-resisting, whilst cost-efficient, technologies as well as the strict enforcement, including financial incentives, of active policies for the seismic retrofit of existing buildings at a national scale.