Christchurch Ideas

Since the first earthquake on 4 September, the term "Christchurch Rebuild" has been used quite liberally by both the media and local politicians. Following the first earthquake it seemed a little ludicrous to describe repairing the damage and demolishing about 90 buildings within the four avenues could be called rebuilding Christchurch, as the vast majority of the buildings in that area were perfectly fine. A better question would have been "What would be prudent to do with this vacant area?". An even better question would have been "Should we move a little west?". The debate around these questions became irrelevant on 22 February.

That was when those questions tool on real relevance. Many buildings completely collapsed, terrible loss of life. The Minister of Earthquakes being quoted on his preference to tear down many of these older buildings. The shutdown of the CBD and the eeriness of the pictures and videos showing badly damaged and deserted streets of a place we all knew so well. The reality that what was there will no longer be there. This was not limited to old brick buildings, but many so-called modern buildings. Many of these will have to go. A few hotels, the BDO Spicer building down Victoria Street, the Clarendon Towers and the now infamous Grand Chancellor.

So it is now a given that there will be mass rebuilding, but before any grand plans are drawn up, there are a few facts that need to be considered. One is a lot of people will not go back into the CBD let alone a high rise building. Another is that no matter what the politicians say, the actual CBD of Christchurch has already marched west into Addington, Riccarton and Hornby. Many of those business are likely to stay there for the foreseeable future. It is also possible that the planners will have to think that Christchurch will be the first city in New Zealand to have a "old town" quarter, much like many European cities. With that in mind, will it be better to design around that idea? As events since the February earthquake have illustrated, it's entirely possible that what was central Christchurch may become one of the more eastern parts of the city if suburbs such as Burwood, Dallington, Shirley and Bexley become deserted.

What should central Christchurch look like? Should any ideas of attracting businesses be abandoned and design more along the lines of Oxford Street and the West End in London? Should there be some more concise acknowledgement of the history of the city? Why not have a French Quarter of the city much like New Orleans. The French did after all, have history in Canterbury. And while we're at it, what would Maori architects come up with if they had to design a Maori Quarter to acknowledge the original settlers of the area? An area similar to the West End? A retail triangle with Ballantynes as the centre and covering High Street, Cashel Street and parts of Colombo Street?

Whatever happens with this design, Christchurch residents need to put their hands up and contribute. Christchurch has that rare luxury in cities that there is plenty of space, in fact, it's the only major New Zealand that can shift inland a bit. So while it's pretty much rest assured that iconic structures such as the Cathedral and the Arts Centre will be rebuilt, those gaps in the city blocks will need to reflect not only the best way to rebuild in earthquake damaged areas, but also to start a new heritage.

Our Favourite Places

People who live in cities have them. Their favourite places. Might be a favourite shop. Might be a favourite cafe. Might be a favourite venue. Might be a favourite pub. Tonight in Christchurch, many people's favourite pub was demolished.

To be fair anyone who saw The Carlton following the 22 February earthquake would have thought it was only a matter of time before it was demolished. There was a gaping hole on the east side wall. There were also braces holding up the south side wall. The future didn't look rosy for The Carlton. However, this was where New Zealand's first tap beer was poured. It had occupied the same spot for over 105 years, which by New Zealand standards, is an exceptionally long time. It also introduced that much beloved pub feature, the beer garden to New Zealand. The first drive through bottle store was also at The Carlton.

To anyone who has lived in Christchurch, they would know The Carlton. It stood on the corner of Bealey Ave and Papanui Road like a sentinel. It has always looked welcoming. It is the pub that has had probably more regulars than any other New Zealand pub. There were groups of old men who had met there every Friday for drinks since their student days. For a while there you could see bands playing there until it was restored back to the original building. Just about anyone who has ever been to a pub in Christchurch, would have spent time in The Carlton. Many people are going to mourn the passing of this part of the city.

Regretfully, the demolition of The Carlton, only re-emphasises the point that this is only one of many favoured places in Christchurch that will face the wrecking ball. All but one of the churches within the four avenues have either been destroyed or badly damaged. To put it in some context, compared to the rest of the churches, the Cathedral got off lightly. There are other buildings around Christchurch that haven't survived such as the ANZ building on the corner of High Street and Lichfield street which was completely destroyed during the earthquake. Buildings further down High Street have had significant damage and it seems unlikely they will survive. Much of Manchester Street and Colombo Street have been demolished already. Many people's favourite restaurants were in these areas.

In the end, it's all brick and mortar. It can be rebuilt. What can't be rebuilt are the lives that have been lost or shattered by the earthquake. But as people start looking for signs of normality, the news that some of those favourite places have moved to new premises, brings an elation beyond what could normally be expected. In the last week, I have seen Scorpio Books, the best bookshop in the city, getting ready to re-open down Riccarton Road - just down the road from my place. The Children's Bookshop is re-opening down Blenheim Road at Blenheim Square and it's looking increasingly likely that Alice in Videoland will be re-opening soon. And while it doesn't sound like much, the survival of those favourite places in a city where everything is anything but normal, is just the tonic to spur the population on.

Alarms, Sirens and Choppers at Dawn

In the last few days, Radio New Zealand released audio of a Christchurch reporter Bridget Mills, conducting an interview with someone in Libya. She all of a sudden exclaims "Big earthquake", with "Shit" thrown in a few times. Almost amazingly, she had the presence of mind to come back to the phone to apologise for the abrupt end to the interview. We listened to this at work and then to some of the initial reports from the Radio New Zealand website. Listening to those initial reports on the ground brought a lot of it back for me.

The initial thing for me straight after the earthquake was the chorus of alarms. It seemed that every building in the city's alarm was activated. It was briefly eclipsed by the rumble of the severe aftershock about 15 minutes after the main quake and the screams of people standing around, not sure what to do next. Many of those reports had those alarms going in the background.

As people left the central city, there were more sounds to remind us all that all was not well. There were more sirens than normal and more helicopters. Later on in the afternoon while walking the dog, I saw a helicopter flying very low over the Riccarton Mall. Almost as if it was doing a spot check from the air, looking for anything with obvious damage. Early the next morning a new sound that we all started to get used to - Iroquois helicopters flying low over the city. Iroquois have a very distinctive sound compared to other helicopters so it wasn't hard to tell when one was around. In fact Christchurch residents could be forgiven for mistaking Christchurch as the scene of a Vietnam War movie, that was how often they were flying around.

Sounds trigger memories and for many people, they are going to be transported back to that day every time they hear a building alarm.