117061sm

40 Style | rebuild
WHAT THe ARCHITeCT
WAS THINKING – Maybe!
Richard Dalman gives us the answers to last month’s quiz and a further
insight into Christchurch architecture.
Did you take up my challenge last month and
test your observational skills of Christchurch’s
architecture? The design of many buildings are
inspired by their location, sense of purpose or
clever ideas – let’s check how many answers
you got right.
The JB’s Discounter on the corner of Hills
Road and Dudley Street has been designed as
a “bag of lollies” – very appropriate for a dairy.
Knox Plaza in Victoria Street was conceived as
a ribbon that wraps around to form an internal
courtyard. I like how this looks like a small
village of buildings and positively relates to
Knox Church next door.
The louvres on the Young Hunter building
in Victoria Street are fixed horizontally to
the north as that is better to shade the sun
when it is high in the sky to the north, and the
vertical louvres facing the street work better
when the sun is lower to the west.
I remember the late Paul Holmes and the
architect of the Christchurch Casino, Bill
Gregory, discussing at the opening how the
building had been designed as an erupting
volcano – take a look at the entrance next
time you visit!
The BreakFree Hotel on Cashel Street
(formerly Hotel So) has louvres that are
painted yellow on one side and orange on the
other. This gives the impression of the building
changing colour as you walk by. When you are
front-on to the building the louvres are almost
invisible!
The 11 concrete fins on the new Salvation
Army Building represent the Army’s 11 Articles
of Faith.
The award-winning building that features
cut-out ceiling panels that create dappled light
shadows is the ilex building in the Botanic
Gardens.
While the cardboard tubes appear to hold
up the roof of the Transitional (Cardboard)
Cathedral, it is actually the LVL timber beams
hidden within them that provide much of
the structure. Apparently, the thickness of
the cardboard in the tubes available in New
Zealand was too thin, unlike other cardboard
tubes that the architect, Shigeru Ban, has used
for similar post-disaster projects around the
world.
It is the regional lounge at the Christchurch
International Airport that has been described
as follows: “The folded form of the ceiling finds
its origins in the Southern Alps which are a
backdrop, the large timber truss represents the
old timber trussed bridges found throughout
the South Island, and the organic forms of the
café and bespoke seating are found along the
coastline as the forest meets the ocean with
kelp swaying at the ocean edge.” While this
may sound like a bit of waffle, have a look next
time you are in the space and see what you
think.
What is Christchurch’s best new building?
Top of my list is the Transitional (Cardboard)
Cathedral. And the best refurbished building,
well, I vote for Mountfort’s Great Hall in the
Arts Centre.
I will write about both of these buildings
another time. In the meantime, keep
experiencing the buildings, both old and new,
and look out for the ideas behind them, and
what makes them great or otherwise.
Brand New Prebbleton Show Home Opening
This Weekend: 72 Blakes Road, Prebbleton
Open on Weekends from 12pm to 4pm
Silver medal winner in Registered Master Builders 2016 House of the Year Awards
Builders of superior homes.
Built to last.
Office & Show Home: 5 Broomleigh Drive,
Faringdon, Rolleston
New Show Home: 72 Blakes Road, Prebbleton
Phone: 03 374 9172 or Rob: 021 324 876
E-mail - robin@artisanhomes.co.nz
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