A snapshot from GPS Boomerang's SmartBird flight over the Christchurch red zone on 23 December 2012, looking over Latimer Square with the CTV Building site visible on the right.
A snapshot from GPS Boomerang's SmartBird flight over the Christchurch red zone on 23 December 2012, looking over Cathedral Square with the Cathedral and the Post Office visible. The BNZ Building has been partially demolished.
A snapshot from GPS Boomerang's SmartBird flight over the Christchurch red zone on 5 June 2012, looking over Cathedral Square with the Cathedral and the Post Office visible.
A snapshot from GPS Boomerang's SmartBird flight over the Christchurch red zone on 5 June 2012, looking over Cathedral Square with the Christchurch Cathedral, the Post Office Building and the Chalice visible.
Wednesday 11 April 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-04-13-IMG_1344 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-02-22-IMG_9684 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-02-19-IMG_0269 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
A photograph of the earthquake damaged Press building in Cathedral Square.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "37 Latimer Square".
A written history of 2 Cathedral Square, site of the BNZ Building and BNZ Tower.
Members of the New Zealand Search and Rescue (USAR) team in Latimer Square. After the 22 February 2011 earthquake, emergency service agencies set up their headquarters in Latimer Square.
A photograph of people gathered in Cathedral Square for Picture Palace Parade - a tour of the Square's historic cinema sites and outdoor movie screening of Heavenly Creatures. The event was part of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of Worcester Street near Latimer Square. A police car is parked on the road. In the distance, tents have been set up in Latimer Square.
A photograph of people gathered in Cathedral Square for Picture Palace Parade - a tour of the Square's historic cinema sites and outdoor movie screening of Heavenly Creatures. The event was part of FESTA 2014.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square walk through, which allowed citizens of Christchurch to view the Cathedral freely for the first time since 22 February when it was put behind a cordon for safety reasons".
A photograph of a building on Armagh Street, taken from Victoria Square.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square".
A photograph of building rubble on Madras Street near Latimer Square.
Scaffolding surrounds the Bank of New Zealand building, Cathedral Square.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Novotel Hotel, Cathedral Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Victoria Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Warner's Hotel, Cathedral Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "51-53 Cathedral Square".
A written history of 39 Cathedral Square, the Regent Theatre and Southern Encounter Aquarium and Kiwihouse.
A photograph of a lamp post in Cranmer Square.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Novotel Hotel, Cathedral Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Victoria Square".
This topic was chosen in response to the devastation caused to Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand following earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Working amongst the demolition bought to attention questions about how to re-conceive the square within the rebuilt city. In particular, it raised questions as to how a central square could be better integrated and experienced as a contemporary addition to Christchurch city. This thesis seeks to investigate the ways in which central squares can be better integrated with the contemporary city and how New Urbanist design principles can contribute toward this union. The research principally focuses on the physical and spatial integration of the square with the contemporary city. A drawing-based analysis of select precedent case studies helped to determine early on that overall integration of the contemporary square could be attributed to several interdependent criteria. The detailed studies are supplemented further with literature-based research that narrowed the criteria to five integrative properties. These are: identity, scale and proportion, use, connectivity and natural landscape. These were synthesised, in part, from the integrative New Urbanist movement and the emerging integrative side of the more contemporary Post Urbanist movement. The literature-based research revealed that a more inclusive approach toward New Urbanist and Post Urbanist design methodologies may also produce a more integrated and contemporary square. Three design case studies, using the redesign of Cathedral Square, were undertaken to test this hypothesis. The case studies found that overall, integration was reliant on a harmonious balance between the five integrative properties, concluding that squares can be better integrated with the contemporary city. Further testing of the third concept, which embraced an allied New Urbanist / Post Urbanist approach to design, found that New Urbanism was limited in its contribution toward the integration of the square.