An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 6 February 2013 entitled, "Charming Chimney".
A photograph of a damaged building on Manchester Street. The second storey has been boarded up and the building has been fenced off.
Seen through a cordon fence, traces of bricks from a demolished building adhere to the concrete wall of the adjoining building, also being demolished.
A damaged building on Liverpool Street. A sign in the window reads, 'Our family home'. Security fencing has been placed around the building to restrict access.
Seen through a cordon fence, traces of bricks from a demolished building adhere to the concrete wall of the adjoining building, also being demolished.
A PDF copy of The Star newspaper, published on Wednesday 30 January 2013.
A PDF copy of The Star newspaper, published on Friday 21 June 2013.
A photograph of Mike Hewson's installation, 'Government Life Suspension', on the wall of the Chancery Arcade building. The artwork depicts a reflection of the Government Life building which is visible behind the Chancery Arcade. The installation is part of a series titled 'Homage to the Lost Spaces'. The Government Life and Chancery Arcade buildings were demolished in 2014.
Multiple cranes viewed through a cordon fence. The Novotel Hotel building stands in the foreground and the Rendezvous Hotel building in background.
A photograph of an advertising image in the window of Sugar Hair and Beauty, on the ground floor of the Inland Revenue Building. There are search and rescue codes spray-painted on the window, and a pile of rubble on the footpath in front.
Christchurch earthquake events have raised questions on the adequacy of performance-based provisions in the current national building code. At present, in the building code the performance objectives are expressed in terms of safety and health criteria that could affect building occupants. In general, under the high intensity Christchurch events, buildings performed well in terms of life-safety (with a few exceptions) and it proved that the design practices adopted for those buildings could meet the performance objectives set by the building code. However, the damage incurred in those buildings resulted in unacceptably high economic loss. It is timely and necessary to revisit the objectives towards building performance in the building code and to include provisions for reducing economic implications in addition to the current requirements. Based on the observed performance of some buildings, a few specific issues in the current design practices that could have contributed to extensive damage have been identified and recommended for further research leading towards improved performance of structures. In particular, efforts towards innovative design/construction solutions with low-damage concepts are encouraged. New Zealand has been one of the leading countries in developing many innovative technologies. However, such technically advanced research findings usually face challenges towards implementation. Some of the reasons include: (i) lack of policy requirements; (iii) absence of demonstrated performance of new innovations to convince stakeholders; and (iv) non-existence of design guidelines. Such barriers significantly affect implementation of low damage construction and possible strategies to overcome those issues are discussed in this paper.
As a result of the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake and the more damaging 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, considerable damage occurred to a significant number of buildings in Christchurch. The damage that occurred to the Christchurch Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (commonly known as the Christchurch Basilica) as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes is reported, and the observed failure modes are identified. A previous strengthening intervention is outlined and the estimated capacity of the building is discussed. This strengthening was completed in 2004, and addressed the worst aspects of the building's seismic vulnerability. Urgent work was undertaken post-earthquake to secure parts of the building in order to limit damage and prevent collapse of unstable parts of the building. The approach taken for this securing is outlined, and the performance of the building and the previously installed earthquake strengthening intervention is evaluated.A key consideration throughout the project was the interaction between the structural securing requirements that were driven by the requirement to limit damage and mitigate hazards, and the heritage considerations. Lessons learnt from the strengthening that was carried out, the securing work undertaken, and the approach taken in making the building "safe" are discussed. Some conclusions are drawn with respect to the effectiveness of strengthening similar building types, and the approach taken to secure the building under active seismic conditions. AM - Accepted Manuscript
A view from Madras Street looking towards Lichfield Street. A building has been vandalised with graffiti, and next door is a empty section where a building once stood.
A photograph of AMG design agency on Bedford Row. The building has been fenced off and there are empty building sites on either side.
A view down Manchester Street of damaged buildings and vacant lots. The facade of the Excelsior Sports Bar building is supported by a stack of shipping containers.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 30 June 2013 entitled, "Bridge is Back".
A view down Manchester Street of damaged buildings and vacant lots. The facade of the Excelsior Sports Bar building is supported by a stack of shipping containers.
A photograph of a cleared building site between Cashel Street and Hereford Street. Damaged buildings on Hereford Street can be seen in the distance.
A digger demolishes the ANZ building in Cathedral Square. The partially demolished BNZ building is also visible. Photograph taken from upstairs in the Re:Start mall.
A photograph of the exposed wall of a building on High Street. Different coloured squares of paint give it a patchwork effect.
A photograph of the exposed wall of a building on High Street. Different coloured squares of paint give it a patchwork effect.
An old advertisement for McCormick Reapers and Binders on the side of a building has been exposed by the demolition of the adjoining building.
Cars parked outside two new buildings on Norwich Quay in Lyttelton. Advertisements for fencing companies hang on security fences that surround the buildings.
A photograph of damaged buildings and an empty building site between Cashel Street and Lichfield Street, taken from the corner of High Street.
Building rubble on High Street.
The partially-demolished BNZ building.
Mackenzie and Willis building behind
A photograph of the badly-damaged Octagon building on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets. Coloured vinyl covers part of the building and other areas have been boarded up.
A photograph of a fire-damaged building in High Street. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Tuam Street and High Street shops, CBD. By Alice's".
A photograph of detail of the McKenzie & Willis building. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Tuam Street and High Street shops, CBD. By Alice's".