A video of a play produced and performed by students from Avonside Girls' High School. The play was created for the Theater Federation One Act Play Festival, on the topic of the Christchurch rebuild. The students modeled the play on the epic theatre style, aiming to emotionally affect and enact change in their audience.
An aerial photograph of Avonside Girls High School in Avonside.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School".
A sign for Avonside Girls' High School on the front fence of Burnside High School. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Many schools in Christchurch were closed and so those that were available shared. Here Burnside High School shared facilities with Avonside Girls High School. Greers Road".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School sign". The sign reads, "This site is closed but the school is open. Avonside Girls High School has been temporarily relocated to Burnside High School, 151 Greers Road, Burnside 8053. Please do not enter this site - earthquake-damaged buildings".
An aerial photograph of Avonside Girls High School.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Morning break at Avonside Girls High".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The new classrooms at Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Groups of students from Avonside Girls High School conversing during morning break".
An aerial photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School. Woodham Road left to right".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking across the quad towards the new staff room at Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Students tossing a ball at Avonside Girls High School".
An aerial photograph looking north over Avonside. In the bottom centre of the photograph, Avonside Girls High School can be seen.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School. The crest was salvaged from the top of the old block".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The new staff room at Avonside Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School with the brightly painted new Library building in the background".
Students from Avonside Girls High School giving BeckerFraserPhotos the thumbs up. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Once these girls noticed the large camera, we got an enthusiastic reaction from them".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School. The crest was salvaged from the old block".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A group of students eating lunch in front of a classroom at Avonside Girls High School".
The new staff room at Avonside Girls High School with the new classrooms in the background. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avonside Girls High School staff room. We spoke to two Science teachers who talked enthusiastically about their new Science labs and how great it was to return to their own campus again".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Some of the former buildings at Avonside Girls High School remain, as do the magnificent trees which make this site so attractive".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A group of students eating lunch in front of a classroom at Avonside Girls High School".
Students from Avonside Girls High School eating lunch outside their temporary library building, built since the earthquake. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The new buildings are low and brightly painted in strong colours. The mood is similar to the Container Mall Re:Start, with bright colours, low ceilings, and a spacious layout".
An aerial photograph of Avonside and its surrounding suburbs.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The River Avon close to the gate of Avonside Girls High School. The river forms part of the lovely setting for the school, along with the mature trees".
A sign on a fence on Marine Parade in North New Brighton reads "We need your support. We say yes to a new local high school. Northeast Secondary Education Committee." The photographer comments, "A bike ride to New Brighton and the beach 3 weeks after the Feb 22 quake. Roads were still very rough and under reconstruction. I think this issue may be shelved for a while. Unless Shirley Boys High and Avonside Girls High can't be rebuilt, of course".
This project looks at how destroyed architecture, although physically lost, fundamentally continues to exist within human memories as a non-physical entity. The site chosen is Avonside Girls’ High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, a school heavily damaged during the February 22nd earthquake in 2011. The project focuses on the Main Block, a 1930s masonry building which had always been a symbol for the school and its alumni. The key theories relevant to this are studies on non-material architecture and memory as these subjects investigate the relationship between conceptual idea and the triggering of it. This research aims to study how to fortify a thought-based architecture against neglect, similar to the retrofitting of physical structures. In doing so, the importance of the emotive realm of architecture and the idea behind a building (as opposed to the built component itself) is further validated, promoting more broadminded stances regarding the significance of the idea over the object. A new method for disaster recovery and addressing trauma from lost architecture is also acquired. Factors regarding advanced structural systems and programmes are not covered within the scope of this research because the project instead explores issues regarding the boundaries between the immaterial and material. The project methodology involves communicating a narrative derived from the memories alumni and staff members have of the old school block. The approach for portraying the narrative is based on a list of strategies obtained from case studies. The final product of the research is a new design for the high school, conveyed through a set of atmospheric drawings that cross-examines the boundaries between the physical and non-physical realms by representing the version of the school that exists solely within memories.