As an urgent public service response to Christchurch’s recent devastating earthquakes, a good number of Christchurch’s Architects who feel passionately about the city, including some of its most respected and experienced practitioners, have for some months been volunteering their time to consider and work on strategies and ideas for the reconstruction of the central city.
With the input of other invited professionals and stakeholders of high standing, the working group identified that the future viability of Christchurch as a major cultural and economic hub is genuinely at risk and that new and bold planning initiatives are required to address this crisis.
As a first response, we undertook a number of design case studies using some key under performing sites across the city to generate ideas addressing the character and planning of the precincts they occupy. A computer model of the entire CBD incorporating these was generated.
Our intention is to share these preliminary outcomes with the public as well as with Council, but we acknowledge that much more remains to be done and considered before we can reach anything like a complete or coherent design solution for the rebuilding of Christchurch.
Even so, strong consensus as to the way forward was evident amongst all participants in the group, and from a very early stage. Twelve key strategic recommendations have emerged (see NZIA submission for details).
As Architects, we hope that Council will come to recognize that the profession does indeed have the expertise to share this urgent task of re-planning the city, and that it will engage directly with us, acknowledging a substantial on-going role for Christchurch’s Architects in all strategic planning processes and decision making, before it is too late to matter.
With the willingness of Council and other stakeholders to act boldly and to collaborate deeply on a design led process with the very profession that built the city and understands it so well, we conclude that Christchurch can transcend this crisis, and that we can all look forward to a very exciting future indeed.
The full submission is available here: NZIA-CANTERBURY-Recommendations-for-a-Design-Led-Reconstruction-of-the-Christchurch-City-Centre
Below are some of the images that emerged from this preliminary design exploration process
Your comments welcome!
