An artist's impression of an installation that forms part of the '60 Lights Market' at the LUXCITY event. Coordinators: Daniele Abreu e Lima and Michael Smith; students: Alex Heperi, Gagan Saini, Shamal Nanji, Xavier Apelinga
A photograph of installations being constructed on the corner of Gloucester Street and Colombo Street for the LUXCITY event. In the foreground is the installation titled "In Your Face", and to the right is the installation titled "Etch-a-Sketch".
A page banner promoting an article about the Fesitival of Transitional Architecture Lux City event.
The temporary Transitional Cathedral, also known as the Cardboard Cathedral, under construction in Latimer Square.
A photograph of crowds at the LUXCITY event. The photograph shows installations on the corner of Gloucester Street and Colombo Street. In the foreground is the installation titled "In Your Face", and to the right is the installation titled "Etch-a-Sketch".
A photograph of large wooden flowers erected on an empty site in Kaiapoi.
A photograph of metal bedsteads which have been used to create a fence at Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of fairy lights strung over metal bedsteads. The bedsteads have been used to create a fence at Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of large wooden flowers erected on an empty site in Kaiapoi.
A photograph of a woman hanging bunting at Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of volunteers painting a mural in Kaiapoi.
A Transitional Imaginary: Space, Network and Memory in Christchurch is the outcome and the record of a particular event: the coming together of eight artists and writers in Ōtautahi Christchurch in November 2015, with the ambitious aim to write a book collaboratively over five days. The collaborative process followed the generative ‘book sprint’ method founded by our facilitator for the event, Adam Hyde, who has long been immersed in digital practices in Aotearoa. A book sprint prioritises the collective voice of the participants and reflects the ideas and understandings that are produced at the time in which the book was written, in a plurality of perspectives. Over one hundred books have been completed using the sprint methodology, covering subjects from software documentation to reflections on collaboration and fiction. We chose to approach writing about Ōtautahi Christchurch through this collaborative process in order to reflect the complexity of the post-quake city and the multiple paths to understanding it. The city has itself been a space of intensive collaboration in the post-disaster period. A Transitional Imaginary is a raw and immediate record, as much felt expression as argued thesis. In many ways the process of writing had the character of endurance performance art. The process worked by honouring the different backgrounds of the participants, allowing that dialogue and intensity could be generative of different forms of text, creating a knowledge that eschews a position of authority, working instead to activate whatever anecdotes, opinions, resources and experiences are brought into discussion. This method enables a dynamic of voices that merge here, separate there and interrupt elsewhere again. As in the contested process of rebuilding and reimagining Christchurch itself, the dissonance and counterpoint of writing reflects the form of conversation itself. This book incorporates conflict, agreement and the activation of new ideas through cross-fertilisation to produce a new reading of the city and its transition. The transitional has been given a specific meaning in Christchurch. It is a product of local theorising that encompasses the need for new modes of action in a city that has been substantially demolished (Bennett & Parker, 2012). Transitional projects, such as those created by Gap Filler, take advantage of the physical and social spaces created by the earthquake through activating these as propositions for new ways of being in the city. The transitional is in motion, looking towards the future. A Transitional Imaginary explores the transitional as a way of thinking and how we understand the city through art practices, including the digital and in writing.
The study contributes to a better understanding of utilisation and interaction patterns in post-disaster temporary urban open spaces. A series of devastating earthquakes caused large scale damage to Christchurch’s central city and many suburbs in 2010 and 2011. Various temporary uses have emerged on vacant post-earthquake sites including community gardens, urban agriculture, art installations, event venues, eateries and cafés, and pocket parks. Drawing on empirical data obtained from a spatial qualities survey and a Public Life Study, the report analyses how people used and interacted with three exemplary transitional community-initiated open spaces (CIOS) in relation to particular physical spatial qualities in central Christchurch over a period of three weeks. The report provides evidence that users of post-disaster transitional community-initiated open spaces show similar utilisation and interaction patterns in relation to specific spatial qualities as observed in other urban environments. The temporary status of CIOS did apparently not influence ‘typical’ utilisation and interaction patterns.
A photograph of the Poetica Urban Poetry wall.
A photograph of the entrance to the Re:Entry event.
A photograph of people watching a film projected on the side of a building. The outdoor cinema was part of Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of people watching a film projected on the side of a building. The outdoor cinema was part of Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of a film being projected on the side of a building. The outdoor cinema was part of Gap Filler's 'Film in the Gap' project.
A photograph of a musician performing at the Re:Entry event.
A photograph of The Brewery on Garlands Road.
A photograph of a decorated fence at Gap Filler's first project.
A photograph of people watching a performance during Gap Filler's first project.
A photograph of volunteers painting the Poetica Urban Poetry wall.
A photograph of the outdoor seating area of the Samo Lyttelton cafe.
A photograph of people watching a performance during Gap Filler's first project.
A photograph of a band performing at Gap Filler's first project.
A photograph of a customer sitting in the Porthole temporary bar in Lyttelton.
A photograph of customers sitting outside the Porthole temporary bar in Lyttelton.
A photograph of customers sitting in the Porthole temporary bar in Lyttelton.
A photograph of a garden area on Colombo Street.