Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The demolition of 728 Colombo Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Louis Vuitton Building being demolished, COlombo Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Ash Street looking towards Poplar Lane".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "164 High Street about to be demolished".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Protective container along side the cathedral".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Highlight House, 171-177 Manchester Street".
The Gap Hunt booklet put together by Gap Filler in collaboration with KidsFest for the school holidays. The booklet challenged school children to find and enjoy Gap Filler projects around the central city.
The Avon river, with some cordon fence around Our City O-Tautahi, that was in the former Municipal Chambers visible on the left and the central Police station in the background between the trees.
Christchurch was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on the 22 February 2011. The quake devastated the city, taking lives and causing widespread damage to the inner city and suburban homes. The central city lost over half its buildings and over 7000 homes were condemned throughout Christchurch. The loss of such a great number of homes has created the requirement for new housing to replace those that were lost. Many of which were located in the eastern, less affluent, suburbs. The response to the housing shortage is the planned creation of large scale subdivisions on the outskirts of the city. Whilst this provides the required housing it creates additional sprawl to a city that does not need it. The extension of Christchurch’s existing suburban sprawl puts pressure on roading and pushes residents further out of the city, creating a disconnection between them. Christchurch’s central city had a very small residential population prior to the earthquakes with very few options for dense inner city living. The proposed rebuild of the inner city calls for a new ‘dense, vibrant and diverse central hub’. Proposing the introduction of new residential units within the central city. However the placement of the low-rise housing in a key attribute of the rebuild, the eastern green ‘Frame’, diminishes its value as open green space. The proposed housing will also be restrictive in its target market and therefore the idea of a ‘vibrant’ inner city is difficult to achieve. This thesis acts as response to the planned rebuild of inner Christchurch. Proposing the creation of a model for inner city housing which provides an alternative option to the proposed housing and existing and ongoing suburban sprawl. The design options were explored through a design-led process were the options were critiqued and developed. The ‘final’ proposal is comprises of three tall towers, aptly named the Triple Towers, which condense the proposed low-rise housing from an 11000 square metre footprint to combined footprint of 1500 square metres. The result is an expansion of the publicly available green space along the proposed eastern frame of the city. The height of the project challenges the height restrictions and is provocative in its proposal and placement. The design explores the relationships between the occupants, the building, the ‘Frame’ and the central city. The project is discussed through an exploration of the architecture of Rem Koolhaas, Renzo Piano and Oscar Niemeyer. Rather than their architecture being taken as a direct influence on which the design is based the discussion revolves around how and why each piece of comparative architecture is relevant to the designs desired outcome.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Captain James Cook in Victoria Square".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cashel Mall looking west".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "South-west corner Madras - Armagh Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cathedral Square. Regent Theatre site".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Uncovered sign?? in Bedford Row".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Whitcoulls site, Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Madras Street - Chester Street".
The intersection of Manchester and Worcester Streets looking south.
The intersection of Gloucester and Manchester Streets looking west.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Bismark House, 140 Lichfield Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Centennial Pool, Armagh Street".
The intersection of Colombo and Gloucester Streets looking south.
The intersection of Colombo and Gloucester Streets looking east.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Isaac Theatre Royal, Gloucester Street".
The intersection of Gloucester and Manchester Streets looking south.
The intersection of Gloucester and Manchester Streets looking east.
The intersection of Gloucester and Manchester Streets looking north.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Lichfield Street car parking building".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Holiday Inn - High Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Westpac Building, Cashel Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Centennial Pool children's pool".