Site of a fund that exists to provide financial assistance to owners of earthquake damaged qualifying heritage buildings so that the buildings can be saved if they are repairable.
A building on St Asaph Street has been demolished, exposing the interior structure of the adjoining building. The photographer comments, "The building that this one was part of has been demolished and the join looks very much like the exterior walls of an Anglo-Saxon house. It has been exposed due to the demolition of damaged buildings after the Christchurch earthquake".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 2 October 2012 entitled, "Building Brought to Light".
"Heritage Buildings, Earthquake Strengthening and Damage: the Canterbury earthquakes September 2010 - January 2012", a report submitted by the then New Zealand Historic Places Trust to the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission. The report was written by Robert McClean.
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".
Witnesses before the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission have been questioned over whether preservation of heritage buildings was given more consideration than preserving human lives.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has heard evidence that a heritage order on a row of dangerous buildings may have contributed to the deaths of a dozen people in the February quake.
A video of stills of Christchurch in 2009. The video highlights the heritage buildings and architecture which has been damaged or lost since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
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 company helping to demolish earthquake damaged buildings in Christchurch, has come to the rescue of the heritage-listed Peterborough Centre.
"Training and Education of Engineers and Organisation of Engineering Profession and Building Assessment after Earthquakes", a report submitted by the then New Zealand Historic Places Trust on the Royal Commission Discussion Papers.
A digitally manipulated image of a damaged wooden wall. The photographer comments, "And the walls came tumbling down".
A video about the time capsule found in the foundations of the former Press Building in Cathedral Square. Heritage consultant Jenny May shows the contents of the time capsule, including several coins, newspaper articles, and messages. The capsule was left by the architects and the people working on the building, rather than the editors of The Press.
The demand for a new approach to safeguarding New Zealand’s endangered historic buildings was identified as a result of the recent increase in building code and strengthening requirements following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. The Wellington City Council identified 266 heritage buildings in the city that must be either strengthened or demolished to address these increased requirements. This thesis explores this threat as an opportunity for researching how contemporary design interventions can be challenged to both strengthen and become active participants in the ongoing history of New Zealand’s potentially endangered historic buildings. This thesis challenges the current approach of completely ‘restoring’ 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand, to develop techniques that structurally reinforce historic buildings while inviting the progressive weathering of a building to remain as a testament to its history. This thesis proposes a structural intervention that is responsive to the progressive history of historic buildings, simultaneously introducing a contemporary structural intervention that both participates in and compliments the progressive historic transformations of the vehicle. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the life of a building, while fully restored buildings only enable visitors to witness the original form of the building. This thesis proposes a model for contemporary intervention within historic buildings that draws a design intervention from seismic strengthening.The notion of layering is explored as a design approach to incorporate the contemporary with the historic as an additional layer of exposed on-going history, thereby further exposing the layers of history evident within New Zealand’s historic buildings. This thesis combines layering theories of architects Louis Kahn and Carlo Scarpa with related theories of installation artist Mary Miss. The theoretical imperatives of Scarpa and Kahn are explored as a tool of engagement for the junction between the contemporary and historic building materials, and the work of Marry Miss is explored as a design approach for developing a contemporary intervention that references the layered historic building while inviting new means of occupancy between layers. The selected vehicle for the design research investigation is the Albemarle Hotel on Ghuznee Street in Wellington. The techniques proposed in this thesis to strengthen the Albemarle Hotel suggest an approach that might be applied to New Zealand’s wider body of historic buildings that constitute New Zealand’s heritage fabric, ultimately protecting them from demolition while preserving additional layers of their historic narratives. Over all the design research experiments suggest that contemporary interventions derived from structural strengthening may be a viable and cost-effective method of re-inhabiting New Zealand’s endangered heritage buildings, avoiding demolition and securing New Zealand’s heritage for future generations. Research Questions: This thesis challenges the current economically unsustainable approach of laterally reinforcing and completely ‘restoring’ 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the on-going life of a building. Can the weathered state of New Zealand's heritage buildings be proactively retained and celebrated as witnesses to their history? Can new lateral reinforcing requirements be conceived as active participants in revealing the on-going history of New Zealand's historic buildings?
Notes and dried flowers on the cordon fence at the east end of the Re:Start mall. These express the public concerns and frustrations about the status of heritage buildings and the rebuild process.
The Cranmer Court demolition started today in Christchurch. The 1876 building was originally a Normal School and was in a derelict state in the early 1980s when it was rescued and converted into apartments. The heritage-listed building was red-stickered after the February 2011 earthquake.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 3 May 2012 entitled, "Area unshackled".
Part of Mike Hewson's installation 'Homage To Lost Spaces' in the Cramner Courts building, photographs of people riding bicycles have been inserted into a gap in the building. The photographer comments, "Cranmer Courts was very badly damaged in the quakes that unexpectedly hit Christchurch. Originally big photographs were put into the holes where the doors and windows were, but now these massive pictures have been put across the boarded up ends of the buildings to keep them alive in the minds of the people of Christchurch. The project was thought up by Mike Hewson".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 11 June 2012 entitled, "Sobering Sunday Stroll".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 22 March 2012 entitled, "Lamenting the Loss".
The "Lyttelton Review" newsletter for 21 May 2012, produced by the Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre.
A video of a press conference with Bishop Victoria Matthews in the Botanic Gardens about the plans for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral. Matthews announces that the cathedral will be deconstructed, allowing the safe retrieval of taonga and heritage items within the building.
Summary of oral history interview with Jenny May about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
A video of a tour of the historic Canterbury Club building on Cambridge Terrace. The club will reopen on 9 June 2012, after an intensive rebuild and restoration process which has fixed the damage from the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The video also includes an interview with Dr Brent Stanley, the Canterbury Club President. Stanley talks about the strengthening work that was done in 2009, as well as the history of the club.
Stonemason Mark Whyte puts sculpting commissions aside in order to respond to the Christchurch earthquakes and save classic street facades from the 1870s. Across the Red Zone and 3 generations of the Aires family- Bob, Rob and Suzie are at work on the Heritage Hotel which were the old government buildings.
The "Lyttelton Review" newsletter for 28 May 2012, produced by the Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre.
The "Lyttelton Review" newsletter for 15 October 2012, produced by the Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre.
A digitally manipulated image of 'Save Our Cathedral' ribbons hanging from a cordon fence near Latimer Square.
The "Lyttelton Review" newsletter for 6 August 2012, produced by the Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre.
A pdf transcript of Belle's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.