A photograph taken from the top of the BNZ building. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "There are workers suspended from a cage about a third of the way up the Pacific Tower as well as a couple of workers on the top penthouse floor. It's hard to see where they are suspended from".
Following the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake a comprehensive damage survey of the unreinforced masonry (URM) building stock of Christchurch city, New Zealand was undertaken. Because of the large number of aftershocks associated with both the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and the earlier 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake, and the close proximity of their epicentres to Christchurch city, this earthquake sequence presented a unique opportunity to assess the performance of URM buildings and the various strengthening methods used in New Zealand to increase the performance of these buildings in earthquakes. Because of the extent of data that was collected, a decision was made to initially focus exclusively on the earthquake performance of URM buildings located in the central business district (CBD) of Christchurch city. The main objectives of the data collection exercise were to document building characteristics and any seismic strengthening methods encountered, and correlate these attributes with observed earthquake damage. In total 370 URM buildings in the CBD were surveyed. Of the surveyed buildings, 62% of all URM buildings had received some form of earthquake strengthening and there was clear evidence that installed earthquake strengthening techniques in general had led to reduced damage levels. The procedure used to collect and process information associated with earthquake damage, general analysis and interpretation of the available survey data for the 370 URM buildings, the performance of earthquake strengthening techniques, and the influence of earthquake strengthening levels on observed damage are reported within. http://15ibmac.com/home/
The earthquake sequence has resulted in significant physical and reputational damage to the Canterbury tourism industry. Eighteen months after the earthquakes inbound tourism data is still below pre-earthquake levels, with Canterbury operators reporting that the industry has not bounced back to where it was before September 2010. Outcomes of the earthquakes on business performance highlight there were winners and losers in the aftermath. Recovery of inbound tourism markets is closely tied to the timeframe to rebuild the CBD of Christchurch. Reinstating critical tourism infrastructure will drive future tourism investment, and allow tourism businesses to regenerate and thrive into the future. A blueprint for rebuilding the CBD of Christchurch was released by the Christchurch City Council in July 2012, and has been well received by tourism stakeholders in the region. The challenge now is for city officials to fund the development projects outlined in the blueprint, and to rebuild the CBD as quickly as possible in order to help regenerate the tourism industry in Christchurch, Canterbury and the rest of the South Island
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view from the BNZ building, looking south down High Street".
A photograph of a sign, reading, "Extreme care, protected trees." The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Provincial Council Chambers".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view of High Street from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Sam Crofskey of C1 Coffee standing in the ground floor space of the Alice in Videoland that he is fitting out for his coffee roastery and cafe".
A photograph of workers suspended in a basket from a crane. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The kind of working conditions that don't appeal to everyone. The workers at the Provincial Council Chambers seem relaxed as they are lowered to the ground".
A bollard covered in tattered posters. The photographer comments, "After the Christchurch February 2011 earthquake no more adverts were pasted onto this advertising pillar. Over a year later the posters are starting to peel off and reveal older ones. It seems that the constant addition of new posters was keeping everything in equilibrium, but with no new posters everything is literally falling apart".
A digitally manipulated image of a broken window. The photographer comments, "There is hardly anything left of Christchurch's proud heritage buildings. Most older buildings were made of brick and though they should have had improvements to make them withstand a medium earthquake most did not. They were badly damaged when hit with a series of earthquakes that were up to 2.2g at the epicentre and 1.88g in the City".
A digitally manipulated image of the Bandsmen's Memorial in Hagley Park. The photographer comments, "This memorial in Hagley Park in Christchurch can no longer be used due to large cracks at the base of most columns. This was mostly caused by the earthquake in February 2011, but later earthquakes have made the memorial even more dangerous".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Latimer Square and Radio Networks House (under demolition). IRD building top left and Pacific Tower centre right".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square with the Cathedral in the foreground, the Novotel Hotel behind and BNZ building under deconstruction on the right".
A photograph of a damaged house has been reflected in the lower part of the image and digitally manipulated.
A view through a gap in the partially-demolished Crowne Plaza Hotel to the Forsyth Barr building.
Building rubble from a partially-demolished building is piled behind and partly against a large display window.
A photograph taken from the top of the BNZ building. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A group of people on top of the Millennium Hotel".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "High Street with the remains of the Hotel Grand Chancellor and the Holiday Inn and Westpac building (both under demolition). Manchester Street on the left".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Area around Colombo Street between Cathedral Square (lower right) and Moorhouse Avenue".
The roof of this collapsed building on Atlas Lane has fallen almost intact on top of the rubble. The photographer comments, "Whenever I go past this place it reminds me of a sinking ship".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPXqb7k4azU Details inside a half demolished theatre in central Christchurch. November, 2012. Christchurch, NZ. (c)Mike Brebner. All rights reserved.
Scaffolding covering the outer walls of the James Hight Building at the University of Canterbury. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The repair work on the buildings at the University of Canterbury looks similar to the scenes in the CBD".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The BNZ building on Armagh Street with the PWC building under construction and Copthorne Hotel being demolished behind. The Forsyth Barr building can also be seen".
The dome of the Isaac Theatre Royal covered in sheeting and suspended in the backstage area. In the foreground, a small digger sits on the bed of a truck, and a crane is visible to the left. The photographer comments, "This is the 'dome' of the Isaac Theatre Royal's heritage stage. The front section of the theatre has stayed and so has the back, but the middle has been completely demolished. The best way to hide a secret is in plain sight. Could this really be an ancient UFO stored secretly in the old theatre for decades and now exposed by the earthquake? Is the waiting crane and transporter ready to whip it away to another secret location in the dead of night?".
The entrance to the West Avon building on Montreal Street. The photographer comments, "This very wonderful Art Deco heritage building in Christchurch had residents living in it until another visit from the building engineers re-re-checking for earthquake damage. Now it is fenced off and on the list for possible demolition".
A laminated sign for the 2011 Festival of Flowers attached to a wooden planter. The plants in the planter are dry and dead. The photographer comments, "The theme for the 2011 Festival of Flowers was 'burst! of water'. The Christchurch February earthquake came and water and sand called liquefaction burst out of the ground all around the area. Ironically the plants for the festival were left unattended in the cordoned off red zone and they would have loved a little burst of water".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view of SOL Square from the top of the Alice in Videoland building on the corner of High Street and Tuam Street".