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6 Introduction

GOTHIC RUIN NOURISHES THE FUTURE GREENThe series of earthquakes that hit Christchurch over the past year have changed the city forever, of the 900 downtown buildings in the Central Business District (CBD) the majority are deemed unsafe and therefore will be or have been demolished, while a 100,000 homes have been damaged an estimated 11,500 will be demolished. This is in a city of 350,000 people, which means literally everyone has been affected.

The city faces the daunting task of rebuilding and reshaping its former urban fabric, in some cases entire neighbourhoods will be abandoned due to land depression and severe liquefaction. The displacement of residential neighbourhoods along with the urgent need to rebuild the citys financial centre requires thoughtful and rigorous planning; these next few years will be a critical turning point in the citys history, which will be defined by the way it chooses to rebuild its urban, social and economic landscapes.The tragic loss of life and extensive damage to civic and private property has been featured heavily in the national and international media through countless eye-witness stories and real time footage. Through these emotionally charged segments, we begin to understand the immediate reality of the immense physical damage to both the built environment and infrastructure of the city, as well as the social and cultural loss expressed through the shock and despair felt by those living in the local community and country.

In the weeks following the Christchurch earthquake, architects, engineers and planners began to sort through the rubble that now characterized the city centres CBD to understand what had been lost and whether some buildings could be saved and resurrected, and if so which ones. The debate about

what should be saved oscillated between historic value weighed against the economics of cost and safety. For the people of Christchurch, their iconic Gothic style city had been reduced to a pile of rubble, epitomised by the final collapse of the famous Christchurch Cathedral in the subsequent weeks. Architecturally, the citys heritage buildings were among some of the finest examples of Gothic style architecture in the country; the city has lost not just its historic buildings but in a large part its identity and cultural heritage which is closely associated to these buildings.

Much of the passionate discussion surrounding the rebuilding process seemed to highlight the question; What makes Christchurch Christchurch? Its architectural pedigree in this sense (nationally) was, is distinct. Some of the answers to this question could also be: its landform (its geographic and natural beauty), its setting in the open landscapes, its parks and gardens, its flatness, and its sprawl. There are also issues of climate that define Christchurch such as the seasonal character of its wind and abundance of water as well as the microclimates and the wider environmental influences.

Should one be of the opinion to rebuild in the Gothic style, and actually take on the task of resurrecting what was, they would be confronted with a complex task today. Apart from obvious seismic constraints in light of a possible reoccurrence of another major earthquake, the building traditions have changed and along with them codes and regulations. So how would the gothic be built as true gothic and is this even possible? An attempt to repeat the past would be a reproduction of a city as a stage set or veneer, and it would appear as an artificial signifier of a past culture and lifestyle founded in a truly colonial archetype. This seems to be an ethos that is at odds with its geography

INTRODUCTION Derek Kawiti & Camia Young

7Derek Kawiti & Camia Young

and its place in time as a contemporary New Zealand city, which is arguably no longer a colonial outpost favouring European styles.

Over the past year there has been a shift in focus from a myriad of voices, from popular print media and public opinion to the growing number of website blogs, heralding a move away from the retrospective orientations of what was the city and its past to where are we going, and what could Christchurch become? More recently we have started to see slogans promoting a renewed garden city emerging as the city begins to gain a better picture of where its priorities possibly lie in terms of shaping its near and long term identity. In light of the Garden City identity, the Gothic style has faded, but the interesting parallel is their lineage to nature, and for Christchurch the inherent need for a strong cultural identity to shape itself around. For a city and country to found its future on its natural identity may not be so far from Gothic at the heart of the issue, it may actually be the same inherent intention but simply look different. For architects, planners, designers and the public this question of identity in architecture demands a real retrospection of a communitys values, it is the understandings that emerge from this thinking that will sit at the core of the motivations as the city takes decisions and shapes its future.

THE DESIGN STUDIOThis publication is the culmination of a design course taught at Auckland Universitys School of Architecture during the second term of 2011. Twenty-seven students from two courses, 3rd and 4th year, came together to investigate specific topics in order to then develop design proposals, offering ideas and visions for the future of Christchurch based on understandings of the city. Run as a vertical studio, the two courses overlapped for presentations and discussions which promoted an accelerated learning environment. The students partnered in to teams of three and self-selected research topics. The 4th year students research themes were: Infra-Structure & Geology, Micro-Urbanism, Economic Hubs and Den-City; this group developed wider urban scale strategies. The 3rd year students research topics were: Heritage, Eco-Belt, Water, Patterns and Transportation; they focussed their analysis of the wider city toward a building proposition.

Both groups, whether macro or micro in terms of their focus, used their investigations to generate design strategies, looking for natural tendencies to emerge. Design decisions were made based on understanding potentials born from the ecological and physical nature of Christchurch. The design solutions are innovative, daring and sometimes bold, yet real and thought provoking propositions for the future city of Christchurch grounded in understand the citys unique conditions.

The 4th year students developed toolsets and strategies and focused on creating research-based resources and methods for urban scale design. For example, the Den-City Team used scenario planning as a method to test possible future urban plans, they took four case studies, all plausible options,

8and developed a system of measuring their potential success. While they concluded with a suggested direction, their approach could be applied to other future scenarios and one could take their means of measurement as a method for judging and decision-making. The Infra-Structure & Geology team, with two of the three team members from Christchurch, set out to develop an understanding of the ground conditions in order to inform a city plan based on the natural geological composition. From their investigations they developed a ground condition catalogue and assigned appropriate structural strategies to the different zones. While seemingly deterministic, they also offer a baseline to think about complex issues of fixed infrastructure as hard and soft ecologies and their relationships to designing a resilient plan for the city. The 3rd year students built upon the issue of wider connections and their implications drawing out linkages across scales from that of the large urban context to the finer scale of buildings through programmatic and formal interventions. For example, the Patterns team grafted various urban and ecological patterns across the macro and micro scales, finding inventive ways to design suburban developments as well generate programmatic concurrences and building plans. The Water team looked at the citys use of water and found places to optimise and manage it across three different locations, urban, suburban and rural.

Students have responded to questions that at once relate to architecture but because of their investigations, their proposals respond to wider systemic issues. This has been propagated in studio, encouraging students to search for connective ecological traits and tendencies across the city and its wider precincts. Teamwork and cross-team collaboration and information sharing was an important part of the process and enabled the suspension of individual aims toward a more collaborative notion of a collective project.

SHAPING ECOLOGIESSome of the leading issues emerging among the students were angled toward thinking about the city as an organic system that could in the face of a catastrophe reveal its range or limits to respond to rapid change. We encouraged students to consider the finely balanced and enmeshed structures of everyday life, their material manifestations, and the industries that act to hold together the productive reality of everyday life, and in doing so find the inherent organizational principles that gives reason and rise to the physical environment. Research into the overall effects of the earthquake helped to understand how the various objects or parts of the city were impacted and in some cases key commercial sectors were substantially affected or destroyed. Students grappled with how the cityscape adapted and responded to cope and perpetuate itself in albeit new ways due to the reconfiguration of formerly stable urban spaces. The Economic Hubs team explored how the retail space of the city adapted to altered conditions affecting its form, organisation, and relations of production. They found through their investigations that the increase in mall subscription became a focus of how contingent systems emerge to compensate and replace former modes of organisation and space within the city.

The work is intended to provoke debate purposely, and avoids theoretical frameworks, to delve into the rigorous logic drawn from information resources. It offers prosaic and pragmatic thinking by students grappling with massive complexities and demonstrates their willingness to use available technologies and tools to test strategies, like in the Micro-Urbanism teams environmental simulation where they used fluid java scripting language (processing) to understand complex visual representations of correlating data sets.

Introduction

9In this way the work is intended to contribute to the developing knowledge base of the city and is presented here as research based toolsets to be utilised and understood in a variety of ways hoping not to be discipline specific. Research based courses have allowed an unplugging from conventional notions of architecture in the sense that the research itself gives way to valuable strategic frameworks that reach across disciplines and engage the multiplicity of related fields rather then hiding in the all too contagious realm of specialization.

At first glance it may seem a rather cold response, especially to those who have been directly affected or involved with the reality and complexity of the city. But as one becomes familiar with the work, one will see the earnest sensitivity and consideration behind the design intentions. Each project is grounded in understanding Christchurch, for what is was and what it can become.

While architecture is arguably about place making, it must also accept that these places and spaces exist regardless as richly furnished material systems in themselves. For the editors of this book the notion of place making is defined by the responsive characteristics of architecture to relate to the inherent natural qualities of a place, and we continually support this deeper questioning of architectures role and how it could go beyond merely defining an era through aspects of style as a totem of a city.

While the pressure on students to produce products or commodified containers or stylish envelopes has not yet been outweighed by wider ideas of social responsibility, cultural diversity, and sustainability, it reminds us of our shortfalls

in understanding the complexity around the specificity of place. In this course students confronted the city and found it is inherently a problematic beast- it is an intensifier of relations of inequality, poverty and exploitation, which affect specific structures of space and time. Furthermore, it signifies promise, ambition, freedom, community and solidarity in relation to the individual and the collective although these are constraints and pitfalls they are also its opportunities and successes.

We understand that our cultural and social identities in all their complexity are caught up in those piles of rocks and bricks yet we must believe that it can and does run deeper than this and over time it will become something else, it is a matter of designing and defining what that will be. And this next generation of architects is well on their way to preparing themselves and us for these complex design tasks ahead.

Derek Kawiti & Camia Young

10 An Imperfect Tabula Rasa

Inner Christchurch is an imperfect tabula rasa; that awful shaking has cleared much of the citys built form, yet the pattern as it was before September 2010 is still clearly apparent in the layout of the streets and the arrangement of the remaining buildings. This is a disruption of the normal evolution of the city and presents a conundrum in the consideration of the citys rebuilding does one follow a geotechnical imperative, relocating the commercial heart to the more stable western land, seek to recover the past through the rebuilding of that which has been lost, or perhaps make a distributed ring of towns arrayed around a green core? There are myriad options along a continuum from the heart-felt and nostalgic to the ruthlessly pragmatic. We are not often faced with such an extreme discontinuity in the natural evolution of a city, nor of the consequent necessity of self-consciously choosing a possible future.

There is good evidence that prior to the onslaught of the earthquakes Christchurch had lost its way. Somewhere in the move away from an early twentieth century farm service town to a city whose livelihood came from industrial and tourist activities, the relationship between shape and utility had been lost. This is not necessarily a concern of cities in which topography plays a more deterministic role, but on the flat pan of the Canterbury plains one could

read the citys story in its arrangement of streets, parks and major buildings. The inner city had been in a graceful decline prior to the earthquakes, probably since the end of the wool boom of the Korean War but certainly since Britain joined the EEC and assured sales of the hinterlands primary produce was lost.

The decline of the citys relationship with the flatlands to the west is best symbolised by the construction of a hotel currently falling under the wrecking ball. Though the city is famed for its rigorous street grid, it is enlivened by a diagonal street linking the port in the south east and the wealth-creating powerhouse of the North Canterbury grass lands in the north west. This axis, from High Street south of Cathedral Square through Victoria Street north of the square, is one of those gestures that, in a single stroke, provided striking evidence of the citys raison dtre a genteel service town for the rural rump. The Crowne Plaza hotel, constructed in the rush of nineteen eighties laissez faire economics and sited on the Victoria Street carriageway, effectively amputated this symbolic connection with the citys pastoral roots. In doing so, it reinforced the containment of an adjacent square and turned the city back on itself.

AN IMPERFECT TABULA RASA Pip Cheshire

11 Pip Cheshire

The closure of this rural connection was matched by the sprawl of the city across the plains in the west and imperfectly filled estuarine mudflats to the east. A ring of shopping malls some three or four kilometers from the city centre denuded the inner city of shoppers and consumer dollars were further bled off to big box retailing on the citys southern fringe. This left an inner city composed of Victorian and Edwardian warehouses subsisting on cheap rentals for niche retailers, backpackers and cafes. More recently the warehouses and service lanes of the inner citys south east offered purchase for a new generation of epiphyte-like developers. A number of new developments offered a quirky reworking of the existing buildings which reinvigorated the inner city, though how far this might run, and how extensive the reoccupation of the city building stock, we are, alas, not to know.

We are now faced with the result of a cataclysmic intervention that has swept away so much of the city as to trivialise the incremental manipulations of the burgher and bureaucrat who have traditionally shaped it. We must now ask ourselves what are the criteria by which the city might be assembled, and how will it be known by its inhabitants and those visiting the city? The Future Christchurch project seeks to provide strategies for the necessary

reconfiguration of the city. The research projects are founded on the mining of all available data, its analysis and the derivation of reconceptualised strategies for the regeneration of the city, and of possible future Christchurches. There is, it seems, no measured activity that has not become grist to the computational mill age of population, car trips per inhabitant, pollution, wind speed, the potential rooting depth of soil, and so on. These give rise to diagrams and graphs, invariably captivating in their graphic beauty and, at the very least, when seen en masse, suggesting the city is an ultimately knowable, observable, construct. This is a big call. New Zealand has a long history of bureaucratic intervention in the monetary and fiscal ordering of the economy to achieve social goals. Yet even within that tradition the self-interested actions of citizens aggregate into such enormous complexity in the contemporary state that we might ask if, in fact, Adam Smiths unseen hand is ever completely discoverable?

Most of the projects bite off a manageable part of the city; one of the more challenging, gathering data on population density, consumption patterns, walking distances and so forth, proposes a reworking of the ring of malls to form a polycentric city. In this scenario malls become town centres with all the

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amenities of public life grafted onto their existing structures. The examples studied lie along existing arterial routes, the most closely studied being to the west of the city an area relatively unscathed by earthquakes. The project seeks to open up the hermetic life inside the mall and embrace the remnants of main street retailing that linger still on the adjacent road.

The project does not examine the commercial mechanisms by which this may be induced to come about. The absence of a proposition to that end leaves the project open to being set aside as fanciful, yet its underlying proposition suggests a way of urban reconfiguration that is at once enticing and disturbing. The acceptance of the inevitability of the flight of consumer dollars from the public space of the city to the private space of the mall will challenge the historic power and influence of inner city land and business owners. This will be especially poignant in a city founded on the translocation of middle class English society and in which the inner citys rehabilitation has been publicly championed by Richard Ballantyne, one of the inner citys key remaining retailers. Though the project proposes retaining a city centre of increased density and differentiation of use, one is tempted to strengthen the singularity of the students proposition by contrasting the supercharged ring of malls with a park like city core populated only by the few remaining heritage buildings and devoid of commerce.

This is not a comfortable notion for a city previously known, and occasionally derided, for its comfortable playing out of a middle class dream amid the (apparent) solidity of colonial Gothic architecture. The reality was, of course, somewhat different with all the social and economic stratifications of the rest of the country evident, yet the mythology of a garden city served the tourist industry well.

If the relocation of the commercial centre to the fringe malls is a challenge to the citys self image, the generation of city location and form through the innumerable iterative calculations of pre-programmed digital agents is yet more challenging. Those disciplines with an interest and belief in their ability to shape the city through the application of dreams, theory or as is more common, rules, are sidelined by lines of computer code.

The Micro-urbanism project gathers contextual climatic and geotechnical data to create a digital stage upon which a number of free agents with single minded agenda are let loose. Thus a house agent will seek firm ground, shelter from the wind, the company of others, look for roadways, supporting services and so on. This, in turn, will affect the location and interaction of commercial and cultural agents as they seek to optimise the requirements of their programming. In doing so other agents contexts are altered and another

An Imperfect Tabula Rasa

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iteration of relocation is undertaken. The effect is a restless vibration as the agents relentlessly seek to optimise the demands of their digital DNA and one is reminded of computer-based simulation games such as SimCity or, indeed films of speeded up human crowds.

There is a disconcerting sense that the ability to affect ones future, or of our collective ability to make a city, has been abandoned in favour of a cloud of avatars in this project. As always, the hand that wields the pen wields the power, though in this case it is the hand that writes the code whose values we need to know. While I am excited by the possibility of dismantling the bureaucratic apparatus of statutory planning, the vast tomes of district plans do, at least, contain explicit expositions of the policy and strategy upon which the rules are based.

If city hall within a mall is too bland a future to consider or you are unwilling yet to surrender to the mute demands of a swirling data cloud, those projects that closely examine the regions water cycle, ecology or its built heritage offer a more familiar set of determinants. The heritage based project is the most poignant with its colour coded timeline bearing testimony to the losses the city has suffered, though its identification of recent heritage buildings reveals either the poverty of contemporary architecture or the variability of the

selection criteria applied. Some projects use the research data to propose specific buildings, museums, transport junctions, and so on, and while these are inventive they invariably reveal the shortcomings of a too literal use of metaphor as building generator. This is in contrast to the profound understanding of the city the outstanding research and analysis offers. Let us hope that those agencies charged with the reconstruction of Christchurch seize the day as these projects do this is not a time for the faint hearted to hide behind the cant of laissez faire economics or the maudlin rebuilding of a lost past.

Pip Cheshire

14 From Admiration to Adaptation

I spent the early years of my life in a town resembling a scene in a fairy tale: the medieval city of Lubeck in Germany with its monumental redbrick-Gothic churches and gabled streets. I still believe the beauty of those buildings influenced me to become an architect. Old buildings - far older than ourselves - inspire us and seem built to last forever, and just like the picturesque town of Lubeck inspired me, Im certain that Christchurch has played a similar role in the lives of many New Zealanders.

Unfortunately with natural forces well out of our control, we now see a very different Christchurch. Large-scale disasters like this test the very fabric of what a community holds dear, and they shake the foundation of all that we believe to be solid and real. For a while the shock is petrifying and the only thing imaginable is to somehow find a way to get back what was lost and in some way re-erect the city as it was before.

But once the dust has settled and reality sinks in, so does the realisation that we wont get back what was lost. While this is painful, it also opens up the imagination to other options and a new and different Christchurch is possible, one where disaster becomes an opportunity for change and growth. It could even become a city that leads others (dealing with similar challenges) along a pathway to a better, safer future.

CHRISTCHURCH C21Universities are essential to our future; they are laboratories of young, expansive minds, and play an active part in shaping the latest thinking on science and design through global networks of information technology. University students today are confronted with the very real and relevant challenges of our day, equipped with a wealth of knowledge unprecedented in Universities, they manage to pioneer new ideas and offer creative designs in the fields of architecture and urban planning, which I hope will open the door to create new possibilities for our urban society.

I had the pleasure of visiting the year-four design class at the University of Aucklands School of Architecture and Planning led by Derek Kawiti and Camia Young. They worked extensively on the issue of Christchurchs recovery, and provided a stunning demonstration of how the emerging generation of designers are prepared to deliver bold, thought provoking design strategies for a new 21st Century Christchurch. After visiting the studio and reviewing their work a few aspects stood out to me, in particular:

Soil: Visually, Christchurch appears to be flat, however after a closer inspection into the soil conditions, a different picture emerges. The areas where liquefaction occurred relative to the areas of more stable ground reveal a subtle

FROM ADMIRATION TO ADAPTATION: CHRISTCHURCH LEADS THE WAY FOR CITIES TO MAKE THEIR FUTURE Bernd Gundermann

15Bernd Gundermann

but rich geological condition. The braided river and its banks of sediments make it clear that the plains are an accumulation of sediments from the Southern Alps combined with deposition of coastal sediment and volcanic lava in the south. Once one understand this, one sees that the plains are actually an exciting and varied landscape. I believe this differentiation could become a generator of a new, landscape-based plan for Christchurch. New buildings could be informed by the ground conditions, thereby activating the richness of subsoil and responding to the tectonic conditions below. We could learn from the earthquakes and create respectful structures informed by this landscape, rather than reverting to an imposed, monotonous grid that ignores the character of its environment.

Density: What drives the densities of our cities? In Christchurch prior to the earthquakes, we saw not such an unusual pattern where the centrally concentrated work place (the CBD in this case) was slowly deteriorating into a vast residential suburbia with outlaying malls and congested traffic. Because of the earthquakes, Christchurch has the unique opportunity to reflect on its earlier condition and change this pattern. They could choose to replace the suburban model with something totally different, perhaps a city comprised of compact precincts of modest densities with green links appropriate for walking and biking, as was proposed in the Den-City project.

Perhaps a more radical idea proposed by the Micro-Urbanism project would be to organize the city based on its ecologies. These students applied field dynamics to the city and came to a ground-breaking, new understanding of the city. This approach replaces the deterministic figure-ground zoning and instead aims to create self-organising, adaptive developments that respond to an ever-changing environment; their work suggests a performative ground up approach that could characterise the future of urban environments and transform zoning codes as we know them.

Infrastructure: Technology has become increasingly mobile over the last 10 years, and we have become accustom to the ubiquitous mobile devices that allow us to work or plug in almost anywhere. This could have huge implications on how a city is organized, where potentially it could mean it is no longer the highway or railway line we depend on but the Cloud or the fibre-glass cable could becomes the next realm of heavy traffic. This means the still-prevailing image of the traditional city (civitas) as a confined, spatially limited phenomenon is no longer relevant, and future cities should be envisaged as an infinite exchange of goods, services and information, a well structured and energised tissue. The city should be able to provide niches for any kind of activity: dwelling, working or recreation, while service nodes (markets, schools, offices) could be liberated from rigid zoning and sprout anywhere as needed.

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In this idealized, distributed city that which is needed is easily accessible and could lead to the replacement of unhealthy concentrations of services (such as shopping malls or office parks). The physical consequence of the information age could mean cities may no longer require centralised, high-rise buildings and cities like Christchurch could become a low-rise, horizontal city, resonating perfectly with the vastness of the Canterbury plains.

Environment: In 1964 New Yorks Museum of Modern Art exhibited Bernard Rudofskys show Architecture Without Architects. The examples presented emphasised that it is possible to produce architecture driven entirely by a smart response to the natural environment- architecture which is beyond fashion cycles, yet is powerfully intriguing. I relay this story because the students took an approach similar to Rudofskys, where they used environmental investigations to discover possible design solutions. The students surveyed varying conditions of Christchurch, such as water, geology and green space, and found emergent, creative ideas from which a new Christchurch vernacular could be developed.

In my decades of practice in Europe I used to read the traces of former buildings, viewing sites as palimpsests. Since arriving in New Zealand, it is the landscape that teaches me how to create buildings that harmonise with

their environment. I supplement these insights given to me from nature with the structural traditions here in the Pacific, for example, in studying the ancient double-hull canoes, which the ancestors built for their vaka moana, I learned that the Pacific preferred tensile structures, whereas Europe stands for structures driven by gravity such as arches or vaults. Tensile structures are also more resilient to earthquakes. I can see a future vernacular of Pacific architecture shaped by parameters derived from the place and its unique conditions. This architecture would make any discussion about style meaningless; instead it would focus on the people and their environment.

From Admiration to Adaptation

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A NEW PARADIGM ARISESI believe Christchurchs disaster could be an opportunity to make its recovery a case study and set trends for other cities around the world. New Zealand is perceived as a clean, green place and we could take advantage of this in the redesign of Christchurch. Beyond mitigating natural disasters and building for safety, the new Christchurch could become a truly sustainable model for other cities struggling with the consequences of inadequate planning. Setting the stage and introducing a new urban paradigm could give Cantabrians a better home and attract global interest and recognition. The students in this course have shown great courage and creativity in setting out on this possible frontier. The emerging generation of architects demonstrates that they can bear the weight of huge tasks and develop creative solutions.

Some 700 years ago, Albert the Great defined the beauty of a city by the cheerfulness of its citizens. He was at the forefront of his time, combining observation of the natural world with metaphysics. Later, the Age of Enlightenment abandoned metaphysics in favour of physics. Cities eventually became measured only through statistical analysis, which left planning to the realm of science. An emerging paradigm could reintroduce the metaphysical aspects of an environment, creating an intangible sense of place. Perceiving mankind as an integral part of the natural environment leads to buildings and

cities that are both placed attentively and operate adaptively. Christchurch could lead the way from admiration to adaptation, and create once again a beautiful and cheerful city.

Bernd Gundermann

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Cantabrians pride themselves in being the capital Green City of the South Island which has gained them international recognition as the Garden City of New Zealand. Development and urbanisation today has made it difficult to maintain a sense of what it means to be a truly green city. So why was Christchurch assigned this title in the first place? And does the southern centre live up to its birth name today?

The key points we learned through our investigations were: The Black maps indicate Totara and Tussock are the most dominant native

plant species. Their heights reflect the type of plains they were fostered in, ranging from 0.80 meters to 45 meters.

Protected trees in Christchurch have depreciated over time, with only 1800 protected trees remaining. Protected natives are the rarest, with most of them situated in Riccarton Bush (68 trees) and St. James park (79 trees).

Christchurchs total area is divided into two big components: Eco-Belt territory 56% and urban fabric 44%.

This 56% Eco-Belt territory is divided into three types: rural, conservation and open space, with rural plains being the most dominant at 72%.

Through further analysis, we realised that only 12% of the Eco-Belt is dedicated to public space.

Public space is divided into 6 categories, with the most dominant in number being local parks with 518 of them.

However, in terms of area we discovered regional parks are the largest at 74%. Also there appears to be a differentiation in areas across the 6 public spaces,

which is influenced by location and function.

We concluded that Christchurch is most definitely a Garden City simply because 56% of the area is open space, yet whether it will stay true to its name sake in the future is unknown. Because our research shows there is only 12% public open space and 88% private open space, we believe there needs to be greater emphasis put into creating public open spaces throughout the Canterbury region, doing this is crucial to maintaining Christchurchs identity.

E x tensive Public Space within the Cit y Fr inge

Urban Fabric Is Encompassed by a Rural Belt

Spacious Corr idor s Consist ing of Broad Avenues and Greenways

Suburbia Dominates the Built EnvironmentEco-Belt | Introduction

Thomas Denhardt, David Ma, Tina Martin

Eco-Belt

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Houhere Kowhai Ti Kouka Tussock Pukio

Eco-Belt | Analysis

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CHRISTCHURCH ECOSYSTEM - BLACK MAPS OF 1856Looking 155 years back, the cit y was divided into three main regions: dr y, wet and coastal plains. These subdivisions inf luenced the densit y and t ype of ecosystems that were fostered in the Christchurch region. Our investigation into Christchurchs ecosystems reveals that Totara and Tussock were the most prominent throughout the region. Te Kakahi is the least dense, which suggests that the plains are naturally conducive to ex tensive vegetation and agriculture.

Totara Kahikatea Ake Ake Pingao Oi Oi


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Eco -Belt Components: Rural Plains, Conser vation Zones, and Open Space

Eco-Belt | Analysis

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Most Dominant Divisions within Eco -Belt Component s


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PUBLIC SPACEWhile 56 % of Christchurch is dedicated to Eco-Belt terr itor y, the other 4 4% is the urban fabric. Through fur ther analysis however, we came to the conclusion that only 12% of the 56% Eco-Belt terr itor y is public space. These public spaces are divided into 6 t ypologies: regional park s, r iverbank and conser vation, garden and cit y heritage, spor ts park s, cemeteries and local park s. Out of these 6 t ypologies, local park s are the most dominant in number, while cemeteries are the least.

Eco-Belt | Analysis

23Thomas Denhardt, David Ma, Tina Martin

RANGE OF AREAS WITHIN FACTIONSRegional park s have the greatest range f rom fair ly small to gigantic, with a broad spec trum of sizes in bet ween. The other fac tions do not show the same range f rom the smallest to the largest, yet their ranges demonstrate a vast variance in areas across the Christchurch region.

COMPARISON OF FACTION AREASWe grouped the dif ferent public spaces and found that the regional park s are the largest in total area while the local park s are the greatest in quantit y.

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HAGLEY PARK: CASE STUDYBeing at the hear t of Christchurch since the 1850s, it of fers a diverse range of enter tainment and recreational facilit ies close to the cit y centre. Hagley Park has wide-open spaces and mature woodlands, while also accommodating a range of spor ts including netball cour ts, a golf course, soccer f ields and rugby pitches. Hagley Park is highly regarded in the Christchurch, and is a huge par t of the cit y s identit y.

Eco-Belt | Analysis

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RICCARTON BUSH: CASE STUDY Riccar ton Bush is one of Christchurchs most beautiful reser ves, originally established in 1914 as a movement towards preser ving native forests. Comprised of 12 hec tares, it is renowned for the fac t that it includes Christchurchs last remaining stand of low lying Kahikatea forest as well as Matai and Totara trees. Historically, Kahikatea forests existed throughout much of New Zealand, but today only about 2% of these remain.


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E xist ing Pathways

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Site

WOVEN INHABITATIONI chose the site because there were a number of buildings deemed unsafe and likely to be demolished, as well the Avon River runs through the t wo block area. My proposal is to replace the total f loor area lost with new buildings. The conceptual approach is to create a green net work that lends to a new urban form based on making

Building Status

Eco-Belt | Design | Woven Inhabitation

make safe

partially demolished

areas demolished

connec tions. The projec t aims to integrate built forms with public open spaces. The design was generated by graf ting a sec tion of the Waimakarir i River into the chosen site. The r iver translated into pathways, and the landforms bet ween became massing, struc tures and park s.

Site Plan

Traced Figure Ground

Waimakarir i River

27Demolished Buildings Area Calculation

3 4 5

14

1 26 9 107 8 11 12 13 15

12 stories8390 sqm

2 stories585 sqm

2 stories185 sqm

1 story845 sqm

6 stories3855 sqm

3 stories2535 sqm

1 story645 sqm

1 story200 sqm

2 stories1350 sqm

2 stories505 sqm

4 stories3975 sqm

10 stories7040 sqm

2 stories1770 sqm

2 stories3795 sqm

1 story195 sqm

6,7,8

1

5

11,12,13,14

9

10

3,4

2

15

34 5

12

14

1

2

6

7

89

10

11

13

15

lifts

`

Level 1-2

Level 3-4

Level 5

Level 6 -7

David Ma

Building 1

Renovated Building : Previous Building

28

PUBLIC INTERCONNECTIONSMy projec t aims to increase the public space by creating an urban corridor and making connec tions to built space. The selec ted site is situated to the east of the Christchurch Cathedral. By taking advantage of empt y lots f rom the demolished building sites, I aim to create green spaces and gardens for the cit y centre. Using a f igurative approach, I mapped the Waimakarir i River over the site. It weaves and braids the terrain, creating a series of f lat plat forms and berms. This ecological pat tern was considered as a

conceptual star ting point in the search for a new garden cit y architec ture. The new public space corridor parasitically occupies the site and introduces new programmes into the CBD, such as playgrounds, spor ts park s, plant corridors, gardens, commercial pods (cafes, bars, restaurants and markets) and a recreational running track. My projec t aims to enhance Christchurchs true Garden Cit y identit y.

Eco-Belt | Design | Public Interconnections

29Thomas Denhardt

30

Christchurch is home to a complex and unique water network involving rainfall, rivers, groundwater and wetlands. The mountain ranges to the west support abundant annual rainfall which flows through a series of rivers across the plains and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. The city is fortunate to be able to rely solely on the abundant fresh water aquifers situated beneath the ground for its water. Much of this ground water surfaces into spring-fed rivers that meander through the city fabric. These same rivers are also used as the citys drainage system.

Given the recent earthquakes, there is an opportunity to evaluate the citys relationship with its water sources. Through our investigation we looked at how the city is both cooperating with and working against its relationship with water. From our findings we aim to establish potential opportunities to improve and optimise the use of water for the community of Christchurch.

Our investigation focuses on the water network through three main categories: rainfall, surface water (rivers) and groundwater are each analysed to find individual patterns within and also to establish their relationship to the city.

The water network of Christchurch is dependent on the wider Canterbury region. Our research and analysis takes into account two scales: the greater Canterbury region and the local city of Christchurch. The regional analysis focuses on establishing trends in data and their influence on Christchurch as a whole while Christchurch will be analysed on a smaller scale with a closer relationship to the suburbs and the existing building footprint.

Water | Introduction

WATERJason Barnes, Richard Jones, Charlotte Laus

32

Source of Flow for Canterbur y River s

Glacier mountain water

Mountain sourced

Hill sourced

Low elevation water

Lake sourced

Spring fed

Glacier Mountain waterMountain sourcedHill sourcedLow Elevation waterLake sourcedSpring fed

Source of Flow for Canterbury Rivers

RAINFALL RIVERS

HUMAN USE

GROUND SOAKAGE

AQUIFIERS

OCEAN

SPRINGS

WELLS

WATER TABLE

AIRBORN

DRAINS

CATCHMENTS

Christchurch

WATER IN THE CANTERBURY REGIONThis diagram illustrates the water c ycle of the Canterbur y region. Firstly, water falls to the ground through rainfall concentrated on the high mountains to the west, the Southern Alps. This water f lows down the mountains and across the Canterbur y Plains through r ivers, such as the Waimakarir i and Rakaia Rivers, and eventually leads to the Pacif ic Ocean. Across the plains, a large propor tion of the water f rom the r ivers is lost and permeates through the gravels into aquifers. The thickness of these aquifers increase the closer they are to the ocean before split ting up into separate thinner aquifers below the cit y of Christchurch. On the western side of Christchurch, springs also form where the aquifers have been forced upwards because of the impermeable volcanic rock of Bank s Peninsula. These springs feed many small r ivers that meander through the central cit y. The aquifers do not stop at the coast but rather continue underground for approximately 40km before eventually merging with seawater on the continental shelf. Water in the Canterbur y Region

Water | Analysis



RAINFALL RIVERS

HUMAN USE

GROUND SOAKAGE

AQUIFIERS

OCEAN

SPRINGS

WELLS

WATER TABLE

AIRBORN

DRAINS

CATCHMENTS

Christchurch

Christchurch

33

SUMMARY OF ANALYSISRainfall:Christchurch is in a location of reasonably low rainfall relative to the wider Canterbur y area. There is a clear connec tion bet ween the magnitude of rainfall and elevation. The shallow topography means the Canterbur y plains have a reliable and consistent source of water coming f rom the Southern Alps.

Sur face Water:The Avon and Heathcote Rivers are dominant in terms of both r iver f low and storm water drainage dependenc y. The highest drainage densit y is within the Avon and Heathcote catchments.

The overall direc tions of the main r ivers dif fer bet ween the wider Canterbur y area and the main r ivers of Christchurch. The cit y s r ivers average 48 degrees f rom nor th while the wider region of Canterbur y s r ivers average 126 degrees f rom nor th. A dif ference of 78 degrees bet ween them. Intermediate grids show the closest connec tion to the average r iver f low direc tions on both a cit y and regional scale.

There is a strong link bet ween liquefac tion caused by the Februar y ear thquake and the path of the Avon and Heathcote Rivers. These t wo catchment areas also show a far higher reliance on man-made drainage to control water.

Sub-Ground Water:There is also a notable relationship bet ween the height of the water table and the ef fec t of liquefac tion f rom the Februar y ear thquake.

The overall magnitude of the aquifer thickness is greater to the west with thinner aquifers closer to the coast.

River f low direc tions across the wider Canterbur y area have a south-easterly direc tion of 126 degrees which is consistent with the aquifer f low direc tion and the rainfall gradient.



RAINFALL RIVERS

HUMAN USE

GROUND SOAKAGE

AQUIFIERS

OCEAN

SPRINGS

WELLS

WATER TABLE

AIRBORN

DRAINS

CATCHMENTS

Christchurch

Water in the Canterbur y Region Relative to Height

Relationships Bet ween Water Sources in the Canterbur y Region

Jason Barnes, Richard Jones, Charlotte Laus

34

Wet Days (>0.1mm)

Average Temperature ( C)

Relative Humidity (%)

Rainfall (cm)

25 86

80

70

66

20

15

10

5

0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Rela

tive

Hum

idity

Tem

pera

ture

/Wet

Day

s/Ra

infa

ll

800m above sea level.

Sea level

Cantebury Plains. Christhurch City.

Rainfall (mm)

Elevation (m)

44mm

66mm

134mm

Land Elevation

Average rainfall of 6.69cm

Christchurch Climate

Wet Days (>0.1mm)

Average Temperature ( C)

Relative Humidity (%)

Rainfall (cm)

25 86

80

70

66

20

15

10

5

0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Rela

tive

Hum

idity

Tem

pera

ture

/Wet

Day

s/Ra

infa

ll

800m above sea level.

Sea level

Cantebury Plains. Christhurch City.

Rainfall (mm)

Elevation (m)

44mm

66mm

134mm

Land Elevation

Average rainfall of 6.69cm


RAINFALL IN CHRISTCHURCH AND NORTH CANTERBURYRainfall increases as the elevation increases over the Canterbur y region. From the mountainous areas, through Christchurch and to the sea, rainfall shows a direc t linear relationship to elevation. The Christchurch area has a dr y, temperate climate. Whilst there is a large variation in rainfall across the Canterbur y region due to the variation in topography, the Christchurch area itself has relatively low rainfall compared with the rest of New Zealand.

The Christchurch area on average has 669mm of rain annually where Auckland and Wellington see almost double this with 1243mm and 1251mm respec tively. Whilst Christchurchs rainfall is lower than what might be expec ted, humidit y levels ref lec t the cit y s surrounding water, ranging f rom 73% to 84%.


Rainfall Relative to Elevation

Rainfall (mm)

Elevation (m)

Water | Analysis

35

Mt Bryne has the highest average

annual rainfall of 435mm.

Threlkelds Road has the lowest average

annual rainfall of 47mm.

Rainfall in North Canterbury.Averages for previous 5 years.

Rainfall in Christchurch suburbs.Averages for previous 5 years.

The lowest average rainfall is in Christchurchs

Western suburbs with

36

OLD SOUTH BRANCHThe Otukaikino is a spring fed r iver, once called the Old South Branch of the Waimakarir i River, which was separated f rom the main branch during the course of major work s in the 1930s. The r iver is situated nor th of the cit y in a rural set ting.

ST Y X RIVERThe St y x River f lows into the Waimakarir i River close to its mouth via Brooklands Lagoon. The r iver emanates f rom springs near the airpor t and weaves through rural land and some of the nor thern suburbs of the cit y.

AVON RIVERThe Avon River is spring fed and f lows along a meandering course through the centre of Christchurch, f rom its source in the outer western suburb of Avonhead through to the estuar y.

HEATHCOTE RIVERThe Heathcote River is fed f rom springs near Templetons Road. It meanders around the suburbs at the base of the Por t Hills f rom west to south-east where it drains into the Avon Heathcote estuar y.

RIVER FLOW RATEThe average f low rate of the four main cit y r ivers increase as they make their way east wards and when catchment branches intercept with the main f low of water. The path of the f low of water is not direc t, nor is the increase in f low rate a linear progression through the cit y. The Avon and Heathcote Rivers are clearly much higher

2500

5000

10,000

7500

12,500

0 100 50 100

Flow

Rat

e (L

/s)

Distance Along River (km)

OldSouth Branch

Styx

Avon

Heathcote

magnitudes in f low rate as they get closer to the estuar y in which they discharge. The most signif icant increase occurs af ter the r ivers pass through the cit y where the drain outlet f requenc y is greatest. There is, therefore, a relationship bet ween the higher densit y of drains in these catchments and the increased f low rate.

The Four Major River s in Christchurch

Christchurch River s Flow Rate Comparison

Water | Analysis

37

Length indicates flow rate at that point.

Direction indicates direction of river flow at that point.

River Flow Rate


38

difference of 78o

average 48

Nnorth

o

average 126o

N

Christchurch River s Magnitude and Direc tion Canterbur y River s Magnitude and Direc tion

URBAN GRIDS RELATIVE TO WATERWAYSWhile it self evident that Christchurch is reliant on its water ways, the urban fabric s relationship to the natural paths of water has lit tle to no relationship. Whilst the cit y centres nor th orientated grid plan may have been logical for building and infrastruc ture at the time, as the cit y has densif ied its lack of orientation to the natural water ways could become an issue for the ef f icient drainage of sur face water and man-made water ways under the cit y.

Canterbur y Region and Christchurch River s Magnitude and Direc tion

difference of 78o

average 48

Nnorth

o

average 126o

N

difference of 78o

average 48

Nnorth

o

average 126o

N

difference of 78o

average 48

Nnorth

o

average 126o

N

Urban Fabric vs. Natural Flow of Water ways

Water | Analysis

39

RIGID GRIDThe r igid central c it y grid is in stark contrast to the dominant direc tion of the f low of water. The initial central c it y plan was organized in a rational nor th orientated grid. There is a direc tional conf lic t bet ween the grid and natural water ways.

INTERMEDIATE GRIDSThe intermediate grids show a considerably stronger relationship to the direc tions of near by r ivers. Outside the central cit y there are a number of rational grids that are angled to respond to the natural direc tion of the water ways.

FLEXIBLE GRIDSThe f lexible grids are slightly inf luenced by the direc tion of water ways, where the cur vature of their paths inform a more organic urban fabric and a deformed street pat tern emerges.

Typical Rigid Grid

Location in Christchurch

Street Angles


40

CATCHMENTS, LIQUEFACTION & THE WATER TABLEThe Avon and Heathcote catchment areas have a signif icantly higher densit y of drain outlets. This is because of the lower propor tion of permeable sur faces within these boundaries due to urbanisation. There is a clear relationship bet ween the paths of r ivers and the severit y of liquefac tion. Nearly all severe liquefac tion occurred within close proximit y to the Avon and Heathcote r ivers, this is due to the top soil having a high water content around these areas. There is a also a correlation bet ween the

36.4 51.8 78.2 92.011.0

95 451 4320 1759193

3 9 18 1955

Area (sqkm)

Number of Drain Outlet s

Outlet s/sqkm

Old South Branch

Styx River

Avon River

Estuary

Heathcote River

Liquefac tion and Drainage Tables

OSB

68.2%

29.9%

96.4%

100%

21.6%

15.1

39.9

3.4

38.8 15.4

24.0

39.6 6.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

HeathcoteAvon Styx OSBEstuary

Are

a (k

m2 )

Old South Branch

Styx RiverAvon River

EstuaryHeathcote River

Old South Branch

Styx River

Avon River

Estuary

Heathcote River

unaffectedslight liquefaction

moderate liquefaction

severe liquefaction

Avon

Styx

Heathcote

OSB

drain outlets

Estuary

Catchment Areas

Liquefac tion and Drainage Map

densit y of drain outlets and the ex tent of liquefac tion within each catchment. The maps above show a clear relationship bet ween the location and severit y of liquefac tion, catchment area and the water table height. When an ear thquake occurs, the pressure underground increases as par ticles are forced together and the void space (where water is of ten situated) bet ween them is reduced. This pressure forces the water upwards and liquefac tion occurs. The table above shows the statistic s generated f rom these maps. They clearly reinforce the relationship bet ween the water table and liquefac tion with 89% severe and

Water | Analysis

41

84% moderate liquefac tion occurring within the area where the water table is above the ground level. The area where Christchurch is built was historically the site of marshy swamp land. When Europeans established in the area, they set out a gridded street plan, paying lit tle at tention to the location of r ivers and swamps. As the town developed and expanded, these r ivers and swamps were drained or channelled to suit the layout of the grid pat tern. The water table shown is measured using a piezometer. This instrument is placed into the ground until it reaches water and then the pressure of this water is

measured. The measurement corresponds to the height the water would reach if there was no resistance to its movement f rom the layers of soil above. The water table gets closer to the sur face nearer to the coast. The water table intersec ts with the ground plane at around Hagley Park and then reaches a peak of 4m above ground level in the CBD area. The height of the water table corresponds to the sites historic swamp, although the swamp has been drained, the ground where it was located still maintains a high level of water content. This is an area of 122.8 km2 and corresponds to 27.8% of Christchurch.

Liquefac tion

Minor Moderate Severe TotalLiquefaction.

46.6 40.8 6.9

67% 84% 89%

94.3

74.7%

Total area (km)Liquefaction within area where water table is above ground level.

Water Table LevelsLiquefac tion in Christchurch

Water Table Above Ground


42

AQUIFERSThe values above the diagram show the amount of water underground as i f a bore would have been taken into the ground at each point. The value is a percentage of total water at each point which includes all three aquifers. It is clear to see that the percentages get lower heading east towards the coast. The values below the graph show the volume of water across each geographic area. They show that the average water content is around 40% but this is biased by the thicker aquifers to the west of the

cit y. The aquifers underneath the Canterbur y region have been formed over hundreds of thousands of years due to glacial and inter-glacial periods af fec ting the sea level and the location of the coastline. The movement of the coastline east and west has caused dif ferent layers of sediment underground. The composition and permeabilit y of a layer that allows water to f low, causes an aquifer to form. The aquifers are vital for water supply to the Canterbur y region. Approximately 300 million m3 are ex trac ted

Water Content

Christchurch Airport

57.1%Belfast

51.5%New Brighton

29.4%

0m

Riccarton

36.9%Christchurch Cathedral

33.8%

-150m

Christchurch AreaTotal Water Volume: 88.2km3

40.8% Water Content by Volume

Built-Up Christchurch AreaTotal Water Volume: 29.2km3


CBD AreaTotal Water Volume: 1.17km3


Aquifer 1

Aquifer 2

Aquifer 3

Location

Aquifer s Below Christchurch

Water | Analysis

43

f rom the groundwater system annually. This water is used for agriculture (85%), industr y (3%) and domestic supply (12%). All drinking water in Christchurch is obtained f rom the aquifers. Incredibly, this valuable resource has shown no signs of depletion in over 40 years of monitoring. The aquifers decrease in thickness towards the south-east. This also ref lec ts the direc tion of water f low through these underground layers as they generally f low toward the sea in a south-easterly direc tion. Water is

recharged into the aquifers through seepage sourced f rom rainfall and r ivers across Canterbur y. Water entering the aquifers follows a path downwards and west ward due to gravit y. As the aquifers approach the Bank s Peninsula, some of the water is forced up and reaches the sur face in the form of springs to the west of Christchurch. Other aquifers underneath Christchurch f low out past the coast underneath the sea f loor before merging with sea water around 40km from the coastline.

Total Aquifer Thickness


44

Rural Site: Lincoln

Suburban Site: Richmond

Urban Site: Christchurch CBD

Water | Design | Introduction

WATER SYSTEM INTERVENTIONWhile looking at Christchurchs unique and complex water system we uncovered areas of weakness. We see these weaknesses as areas of great potential, and we aim to take each cr isis point and turn it into an advantage for the communit y of Christchurch. Looking at three distinc t set tings of Christchurch: the urban, suburban and rural sec tors, we have conceived three inter ventions, one for each sec tor. Each inter vention has the shared goal of preser ving the qualities of the water net work, reducing the use of the valuable resource, and reusing grey water for new communit y benef its.

45Jason Barnes, Richard Jones, Charlotte Laus

Pumping Station

Aquifers

River

Rain

Springs

Roof / Roads / Pavement

Drains

Storm Water Pipes

Drain Outlet

Flow to Estuary

Domestic / Commercial / Industrial Use

Flow to Ocean

Sewage

Crop ProductionRestored Green Space

Stormwater redirected away from River

Reservoir

Turbine

Wetland Treatment

Wetlands

Electricity

Solar Panels

Temperature Regulation

Watering system Winter Lighting

Greenhouse

CisternFilter Pump

Pumping Plant FiltrationAlgae Photo-Bio-Reactor Tubes

Pool to deflect lightonto algae

Biomass harvesting

Water

Anaerobic Digestion

Reverse Osmosis

Boiler

Turbine + Alternator

Pyrolysis

CH3 (biogas)

Small portion.* Most.

Space heating/ Water heating

Electricity / Energy Electricity / Energy Reduced ContaminatedWastewater Run-off

Cleaning of Plant + Natural Release to Ground

+ Evaporation.

Domestic / IndustrialGreywater

Rain

WellWetland Filtration

Cow Shed CleaningIrrigation

Effluent

Effluent Tank

Anaerobic Digestion

Roof Catchment

Tank

BiogasOrganic FertiliserWastewater(contaminanted)

Wetland Filtration Reciprocating Engine/ Generator

HeatElectricity

FarmLocal Grid

Sun

Well

Cow Shed CleaningStock Water

Pumping Station

Irrigation

Stock

Manure

Effluent

Holding Ponds

LiquidSolids

Paddock Fertiliser

Aquifers

Garden CompostWaste

Aquifers

River

Rain

Springs

Roof / Roads / Pavement

Drains

Storm Water Pipes

Drain Outlet

Flow to Estuary

Domestic / Commercial / Industrial Use

Flow to Ocean

Sewage

Pumping Plants

Treatment Plant

Oxidation Ponds

WATER C YCLE WITH PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS The proposed inter ventions aims to ef f iciently use the available water resources and reduce the toll on the ecology.

EXISTING WATER C YCLEThe existing water c ycle is largely wasteful of the Christchurchs water resources. It is also detrimental to the local ecology.

46 Water | Design | Going Green

GOING GREEN - URBAN INTERVENTIONThe Avon River is relied on as the core component of the cit y s storm water drainage system. The urbanization and industrialization of the cit y has resulted in polluted runof f, causing damage to the health and qualit y of the natural water ways. At the same time, the high discharge of storm water drainage into the r iver results in high r iver f lows and increases the likelihood of f looding.

In an endeavor to take this cr isis and turn it into an advantage for the cit y, the following inter vention is proposed. The path of the storm water drainage is redirec ted away f rom the Avon River in order to protec t the r iver s water qualit y and to lower the possibilit ies of f looding. The redirec ted water will instead be used to suppor t the working of a self-sustainable green house and botanical gardens. The

Magnitude and Flow of the Avon River

Site

Avon River Flow Rate

Magnitude and Flow of the Avon River Around the Site

Nor th Elevation Per spec tive of South-West Facade

Site

Avon River Flow Rate

Plan View of Pr imar y Struc ture

Per spec tive of Nor th Facade

47Jason Barnes

incoming water will fuel a hydro turbine generator and will then be cleaned through a natural wetland f iltration system for the use of on site irr igation and cooling. In summer, elec tr icit y is gained through solar panels while water for irr igation will be used f rom an on site reser voir, which in winter will provide f lood retention. The benef its for the communit y will include the supply of all year local produce, as well

SYSTEM flow diagram

SOLAR PANELS

GENERATOR

CISTERN

TURBINE

BACKFLOW

STORAGE

FILTRATION TREATMENT

COOLING

STORM WATER INLET

FILTER

WETLANDS

GREEN HOUSE

Element s: Water Storage

Element s: Water Generates Elec tr ic it y

Element s: Elec tr ic it y Stored to Power the Site

Roof Plan

Green House and Atr ium Plan

Maintenance and Storage Plan Green House Sec tion

System Flow Diagram

Site Plan

as emphasise the cit y s identit y as the Garden Cit y. The new wetland and park can also become a new space for leisure, ecology education and recreational purposes for the communit y.

48 Water | Design | Avon Algae Park

Monthly Shadow & Solar E xposure Analysis

Solar E xposure During Summer Months Annual Shading Overlay Algae Location Based on Solar E xposure Site Plan

ALGAE PIPESmoderate shadow

ALGAE PIPESsummer shadows

WATERno shadow

STRUCTURES winter shadow

30 Solar Orientation to Avoid Direct Summer Sunlight and Take Advantage of Winter Sunlight

Algae Photo-Bioreactor Pipe 0.1m Diameter x 6m Length

Orientation Angled to Take Advantage of Indirect Sunlight Reflected from the Water

Height Increased to Minimize Exposure to Too Much Shade

49Charlotte Laus

AVON ALGAE PARK - SUBURBAN INTERVENTIONA unique and captivating landscape of glowing green algae photo-bioreac tor pipes provides a passive and alternative sewage treatment system, as well as creates a sustainable waste processing system by giving back energy and heating for the surrounding 2,500 households in the 2.6sqkm vicinit y. The pipes that make up the park landscape subtly undulate and respond to their environment, leading park visitors toward the machine building where they can enjoy, explore and learn about the innovative energy system.

Algae Pipe Park Plan

Perspective in Algae ParkSite Location: 2.6sqkm Includes an Estimated 2,500 Households

Closed Loop Energy System

50

Per spec tive Through Passage Cut ting Through the Public Machiner y Building

Sec tion

Water | Design | Avon Algae Park

51

Machiner y Building

A xonometric of Machiner y Building

publicstaff & machinery

Mechanical System for Sewage Treatment and Energy Produc tion

Inter ior Public Space of Machiner y Building

6,000 Pipes - Each 6m tall Rotary Vacuum Filter Harvests Biogas or Algae Sludge

Anaerobic Digester Produces Biogas

Pyrolysis Produces Biogas

Biogas Fuel Generation of High Pressure Steam Turbine Alternator to Grid

Reverse Osmosis Purifies Water

Charlotte Laus

52 Water | Design | Milking It

Reference Image

Conceptual Site Plan Site Plan

Shelter Belt Plan Studies Relative to Wind Pat terns Minimize Wind Across Site E xcept at Wetlands Area Where Evaporation is Desirablelow

high

53

0m 500m 1km

Existing Stream

Existing Buildings

Spr

ings

Rd

Collins Rd

To Lincoln (1.5km)

Springs Creek

Flows to Lake Ellesmere (8km)

Flow of Water down TerracesFlow of Piped Water pumpedfrom the Stream

Human CirculationAnimal Circulation

RURAL INTERVENTION - MILKING ITAlthough there is a vast network of aquifers under Canterbury, water is still a precious resource which could easily be contaminated through over-abstraction. Currently, the three rural regions surrounding Christchurch all abstract at least a third more water from the aquifers than they are allocated. The trend is getting worse and if not addressed, the consequences could be disastrous. The spring fed streams that f low through Christchurch could potentially dry up and saltwater could leach into the aquifers contaminating the citys pristine drinking water. This rural dairy farm proposal aims to minimise the water abstracted from the aquifers and use it ef f iciently on site. By utilising grey water from the local Lincoln township, catching rainwater, and by re-using water on the farm, the required abstraction from

Richard Jones

the aquifers can be reduced. Through careful site design, such as making use of native shelter belts to reduce wind and ef f icient water movement across the site, the water will be more ef f iciently managed. Wetland f iltration will also be used on the site to reduce the associated problem of contaminated run-of f into waterways, which will also lend to the local ecosystem through the creation of a new habitat. The farm also incorporates an anaerobic digestion system which will process ef f luent created by the cows to create biogas. With engines and generators this can be converted into electricity for use on the farm and excess can be sold back to the local grid. The proposed rural dairy farm will act as a precedent for subsequent developments and retrof its, with the aim to reduce the water demand for agricultural industries.

Farm Layout Water Movement Circulation

54

Effluent

Sludge

Liquids

Biogas

Electricity

Farm

Grid

Hot Exhaus

t Gases

Residential Heating

Fertilizer Evaporation

Excess

Cow Shed / Yard

Separation Tank

Anaerobic Digester

Wetland FiltrationProcess

Biogas StorageEngineGenerator

De-Watering Pit

Digestate

Water

Manure

Mixing

Paddock Terrace 1

Paddock Terrace 2

Paddock Terrace 3

Raceway -Clay and

Gravel

Retaining Wall

Piping under retaining wall

h

5h 50h

Up to 2m

Up to 10m

Up to 15m

Up to 40m

Pinus Radiata(Pine)

Griselinia Littoralis(Papaumu)

Plagianthis Regius(Manatu)

Pittosporum Tenuifolium(Kohuhu)

Phormium Tenax(Flax)

Fence Fence

Paddock

Wind Reduction up to 5 x height

(windward side)

Wind Reduction up to 50 x height

(leeward side)

.75m 1m 1.5m 2m 2m 1.5m

Separation Tanks Sub-Surface Flow Wetland Filtration

Vertical Flow Wetland Filtration

Grey Water In

PrimaryTank

SecondaryTank

Clean (Non-Potable) Water Out

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Water | Design | Milking It

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5.5 18.0 11.0 72.0

270.0

38.0 24.0 66.0

Building Roof Plan

Building Plan

Building Sec tion

Richard Jones

58

The geology of a site and the strength of a building upon it are inherently linked. If the ground on which a structure is built becomes highly unstable, it is likely buildings will fail structurally. The aims of the reconstruction of Christchurch should be for a city that can withstand a higher level of earth movement than current standards permit. The best way to achieve this is with a thorough knowledge of what buildings failed in the earthquakes and why with an emphasis on the ground conditions and makeup of the terrain. From our research we aim to understand where different structural types can be built and perhaps where structures should not be built at all.

Everything in the system that affects Christchurch is related. It is impossible to define where any single chain of events starts, because each system relates to all the other systems and so all systems must be taken into account. The idea of the mountains is nothing without the idea of the water which erodes them. The idea of alluvial plains is nothing without the idea of the coast which erodes and regulates its ever changing shoreline. There is no single event which begins the process of creating the alluvium, because it acts not as a chain but as a complex lattice. The city is a product of these systems- they are the field from which it has grown and developed.

The nature of Christchurch as an interlinked city, and the very reason it was formed where it currently exists, is changing. The safety of the buildings, as they grow larger and heavier, becomes less certain with the risk of earthquakes. The springs and wells from which water is drawn are at risk from intrusive seawater, as well as the toxins and chemicals used by the farming community of the plains. The coastline through which the city trades both nationally and internationally is being pushed further and further away from the hub of the city, while the New Brighton spit grows, the nearby port fills with silt. The farming capacity of the plains has been reached, and while this supports a long term economy, it cannot easily grow or expand due to the limits of its area. Liquefaction and fault movement are gradually changing the topography of the city. INFRA-STRUCTURE & GEOLOGY

As these trends continue, the resources which drew people to Christchurch will no longer be adequate to support a growing population. For the future of the city, we need to look at how the resources are used, and how Christchurch as a hub of affected and affecting elements can respond to the gradual series of changes occurring within it. These elements have to do with the ground, as well as with the way the society works including the demands of todays offices and contemporary culture. These elements affect the buildings we build and the way the city operates, and if these changes are not in keeping with the existing elements which effect Christchurch, then the city cannot work. The buildings that ultimately failed were a product of a lack of understanding about the ground conditions and its related systems. The aim of our research is to develop an understanding of the ground conditions as part of a larger system so that design proposals can be better informed for the future reconstruction of Christchurch.

Infra-Structure & Geology | Introduction

INFRA-STRUCTURE & GEOLOGYJohnathan James Guest, Duy Khang Phuong, Scott Alexander Riley Thorp

60

145m Red Bluff Tuff 1.63 - 5.28 Million Years OldPermeable Tuff

300m Undifferentiated Quartenary Alluvium From Present up to 1.8 Million Years Ago Highly Permeable Fine Sediments

130m Lyttelton Basaltic Lava 9.7-11 Million Years AgoImpermeable Layer

545m Eyre Group Greensand 55 - 65 Million Years AgoImpermeable Layer

Torlese Formation>150 Million Years Old (Gondwanaland Continental Plate)Impermeable Greywacke

TECTONIC SYSTEMSNew Zealands tec tonic plates are a produc t of the collision bet ween the Australian and Pacif ic tec tonic plates, and result in the uplif t of a former Gondwanaland land mass into the Southern Alps, a mountainous barrier to the western rains. A fault is where t wo plates collide, and one plate move and slide over the other. As a result of the forces which are applied to the Pacif ic and the Australian plates, there is a signif icant amount of geological movement along this major fault line.

Faults

Precambrian

Paleozoic

Mesozoic

Tertiary

Quaternary

Lakes

Key: Geological Map

For further information, see the NZ Geological Timescale, in the appendix.

Sec tions I l lustrating the Formation of the Alluvium Soils in Christchurch

As the fault line changes direc tion, there are stresses created in adjacent land, which has happened around Christchurch- this creates much lesser movements and faults to relieve the built up stress. This stress is released as movement, the energy of which is so great it causes the ground around it to shake in what manifests as an ear thquake. The minor fault which caused the ear thquakes in 2010 and 2011 is highlighted in red on the adjacent map, and is an example of a release of stress in the ground.

General Subsur face Composit ion Under Christchurch

Infra-Structure & Geology | Analysis

Port HillsMountains Plains and Braided Rivers Christchurch SpringsFarm lands Volcanic

Erosion of Mountains and RockTransportation of Impermeable Materials

Impermeable Rocks Force Groundwater Upwards

Water Absorption through Permeable Alluvium Deposit of Fertile Rock Dust from Glaciers

A A

B B

CC

Geological Map

61

Fault LocationsAlpine fault, 27mm movement per year

Greendale fault, cause of christchurch earthquake, 0.2mm per year movement

Other minor active faults in area

Geological section lines

Southern Alps

Banks Peninsula

0km 30km

B

As the plates move not only sideways, but also ver tically, you can see how mountain ranges are formed as the uplif t of one plate over another causes a r ise in the sur face. Because the plates under the Southern Alps are colliding, there is a large amount of energy being released as movement all the time, consequently these mountains are still growing.

The sediment eroded f rom these mountains forms the alluvium under Christchurch. The epicentre of both recent ear thquakes was centred far below this alluvium, which the sec tional diagrams show taking up at most the upper 300m of ground. It is most likely the ear thquake took place in the Torlesse compound, or the old Gondwanaland land mass underneath all the layers of deposition around Christchurch.

Alpine fault, 27mm movement per year












Johnathan James Guest, Duy Khang Phuong, Scott Alexander Riley Thorp

C

Pegasus Bay

62

COASTAL PROCESSESThe coastal processes around Bank s Peninsula play a large role in the composition of not only what goes on at the coast, but also what exists under the soil of Christchurch.

There are several long r ivers, which bring sediments and rock s down from the Southern Alps to the sea. The length of these r ivers determines the nature of the sediments deposited at dif ferent points along their length. The larger the rock s or sediments, the earlier they get deposited along the r iver, while the smaller sediments stay suspended and are moved fur ther along. The smallest sediments are deposited at the point where there is the lowest movement of water. In this case, this is the sea, or where the tidal water meets f resh water. Because of this principle, in conjunc tion with the long length of the r ivers, the coastal soil and deposition along the coast is primarily of small or f ine sediments.

Due to the relatively large and energetic movements of most coastlines, these f ine sediments are of ten quickly moved along or away f rom the beach, and so do not linger. However, Bank s Peninsula, as a large solid protrusion into the sea, stops these ocean currents f rom ac ting normally in Pegasus Bay. In terms of the Southland current (the major ocean current along the shore of the eastern seaboard), Pegasus Bay is in the lee of Bank s Peninsula, which creates an eddy current in Pegasus Bay. This current ac ts much more gently in a southward direc tion, as opposed to the nor th, which is the case in the Canterbur y bight. So the r ivers which f low into the Canterbur y bight have all their f ine sediment eroded away to the nor th, while the Waimakarir i and other r ivers which f low into Pegasus Bay, have their sediments moved southwards towards Christchurch and the Por t Hills of Bank s Peninsula.

As a result, the soil and coastline around Christchurch are full of f ine sediments and are growing at a much greater rate than most other coastlines of New Zealand. The major line in the adjacent map corresponds to the coastline approximately 4000 years before present. This i llustrates the ver y rapid grow th of the coast in this area. In addition, the f loodplain of the Waimakarir i includes the area of Christchurch, which is evident in the many dif ferent layers of sediment around the region. When the Waimakarir i f loods, there is a large out wash of large pebbles and stones, due to the greater force applied to the alluvium by the water.

Alluvial Deposits: Mater ial bui lt up over a large per iod of t ime deposited by the f low of water along the cour se of a r iver or over a f lood plane.Glacial Deposits: Mater ial bui lt up over a large per iod of t ime c arr ied by the movement and melt ing of a glac ier.Coastal Erosion and Deposition: Mater ial bui lt up by the deposit ion of mater ial f rom coas tal current s along the shore.Wind Erosion and Deposition: Mater ial that has been picked up and transpor ted by the wind to i t s current loc at ion.Volc anic: Mater ial c reated and deposited f rom a volc anic eruption.

Geological Processes 0 2.5km 5km 7.5km

Ac tive Beach

Alluvium in Ac t ive River Bed

Young Terrace/Plain Alluvium

Young Alluvial Fan

Young-Medium Age Alluvial Fan

Old River Alluvium/Out wash

L ate L as t Glac ial Alluvium

Ac tive Dune (Beach Sand)

L ate L as t Glac ial Dune

Young Dune Deposit (River Sand)

Young Beach Deposit

Young Swamp Deposit

Young E s tuar ine Deposit

Anthropic Deposit

Loess

Governor s Bay Andesite

Rakaia T Z1 Grey wacke

Allandale Rhyolite

Char ter is Bay Sands tone

Ly t telton Volc anic

Diamond Harbour Volc anic

Bradley/ View Hil l Volc /Marine Dr

Mt Herber t Volc anic

Alc aroa Volc anic

Water

Pegasus Bay

Banks Peninsula

Port Hills

Infra-Structure & Geology | Analysis

63

AGE OF SOILSChristchurch is made up of t wo vastly dif ferent processes caused at t wo ver y dif ferent times. The oldest par ts of Christchurch are the Por t Hills to the south of the cit y centre. These were formed by the eruptions of Akaroa, Ly t telton, Mt Herber t, Diamond Harbour and other Bank s Peninsula volcanoes. These date back many millions of years, and have even thrust up some grey wacke which dates back 250 million years. In contrast to this is that the vast majorit y of land that Christchurch cit y is built on, which is relatively new (within the last 30,000 years) and some areas are still being formed (see Geological Process Map). This new creation is mainly due to alluvial f lows across the Canterbur y plains f rom the Southern Alps in recent years closing the gap bet ween the Alps and Bank s Peninsula.

COINCIDENCE / OVERLAP This map is on overlay of the September ear thquakes liquefac tion with the areas af fec ted by springs, and the an overlay of the Februar y ear thquakes liquefac tion with the relatively young coastal area. This reveals clearly t wo points:

Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the relatively young coastal zone in f ront of the green line contains small par ticles and sediments that have washed south f rom the Waimakarir i River mouth, this ground t ype is highly susceptible to liquefac tion. The second coincidence of the spring locations and the liquefac tion f rom the earlier ear thquake shows the nature of the springs and their role in forming the ground conditions of the area around Bank s Peninsula.

Springs bring several things to the area in which they emerge. Firstly, and most impor tantly, they bring water, and thus li fe in the form of both natural systems and also human set tlements. The water r ising to the sur face near the volcanic layer of Ly t telton indicates a ver y high groundwater level.

This water, in travelling through gravels of a specif ic t ype (usually medium to coarse gravels), would cause an erosion of f ine sediment par ticles under the sur face, which would be transpor ted by water to the sur face. These sediments, with the high water content of the soils are conducive to t wo specif ic things happening: f irst, naturally occurring wetlands and swamps in the areas or ponds around springs, and second, ground liquefac tion in the even of ear thquake. This map clear

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