Close up of a handwritten message to Christchurch Girls High School at the Cranmer Centre (previously Christchurch 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 digital copy of a pen and ink and watercolour painting by Raymond Morris, titled, 'Old Christchurch Girls High School'.
Remains of the Cranmer Centre, formerly Christchurch Girls High School (1878 - 1986).
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "40-46 Armagh Street, the now totally cleared site of the Cranmer Centre, formally the Christchurch Girls High School".
The partially deconstructed Cranmer Centre (formally Christchurch Girls High School) on the corner of Armagh and Montreal Streets.
The demolition of the Cranmer Centre, formerly the Christchurch Girls High School, on the corner of Montreal and Armagh Streets.
The demolition of the Cranmer Centre, formerly the Christchurch Girls High School, on the corner of Montreal and Armagh Streets.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The now empty site of Cranmer Centre with salvaged material (former Christchurch Girls High School)".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Cranmer Centre on the corner of Armagh and Montreal Streets, formerly the Christchurch Girls High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Cranmer Centre on the corner of Armagh and Montreal Streets, formerly the Christchurch Girls High School".
A wooden brace holding up a window of the Cramner Centre, formerly Christchurch Girls' High School. The masonry above the window has fallen away during the earthquake.
Wooden bracing holding up the remaining masonry of this wall of the Cramner Centre (formerly Christchurch Girls' High School). Above the bracing, the masonry has fallen away.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School play on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the foreground people wait for the event to start.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the foreground people wait for the event to start.
People cast flowers into the Avon River during the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the background is the string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School which played before the event.
People cast flowers into the Avon River during the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the background is the string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School which played before the event.
People cast flowers into the Avon River during the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the background is the string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School which played before the event.
A woman casts flowers into the Avon River during the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the background is the string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School which played before the event.
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.