Media release 11 June 2013

Why do our buildings look like that?

Why is the new architecture of Christchurch different from the city’s pre-earthquake architecture?

Christchurch’s architects will address this commonly asked and sometimes angrily expressed question at a public event at CPIT on Thursday 20 June.

David Hill, a partner in Wilson and Hill Architects and chair of the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, says the information evening event is an opportunity for architects to explain the factors that shape Christchurch’s contemporary, post–earthquake buildings.

“New buildings in Christchurch don’t look like the old buildings did, and it’s understandable that some people aren’t happy about that,” Hill says.

“Change is easier to handle when it’s small and gradual, but of course the change to the fabric of our city has been big and sudden.”

Hill says public concerns about new and proposed buildings are focussed not just on the appearance of the new buildings, but also on the quality of their design and construction.

“These are issues that also concern Christchurch architects,” Hill says. “The city has a fine architectural tradition, and a great architectural lineage stretching from Benjamin Mountford and Samuel Hurst Seager to Cecil Wood and Sir Miles Warren and Peter Beaven.”

“Christchurch architects are very conscious of their responsibility to that renew that legacy. Like everyone else who lives in the city, we want Christchurch to have buildings future generations can be proud of.”

At the CPIT event several Christchurch architects will discuss the city’s architecture in both its pre and post-earthquake contexts.

“Architects will explain the reasons behind their design decisions as they relate to individual buildings, and to the wider urban setting,” Hill says.

“There’ll be plenty of opportunity for members of the public to ask questions.” Hill says. “We hope to provide some answers that will give people confidence in the ability of the architects who live among them.”

The architectural evening on Thursday 20 June starts at 6.00pm. The venue is DL Lecture Theatre, CPIT, Madras Street.

ENDS

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