The Christ Church Cathedral reinstatement project requires a complex work program of stabilisation and strengthening of the existing structure followed by construction of a new seismically isolated foundation and rebuilding of the damaged sections of the cathedral in a manner that authentically preserves the internal and external heritage character of the building.
In order to meet program timeframes, the consenting process was a critical milestone. Boffa Miskell provided early urban design and crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) inputs; and guidance for both the landscape and architectural design teams. Embedding these considerations into the design from the outset, supported with a comprehensive landscape, urban design and CPTED assessment, assisted the planning team in securing consent on schedule.
The Boffa Miskell team is currently working with the architectural and engineering team to develop detailed designs for the core part of the site.
A new visitors centre, café and museum complex to the north and ancillary buildings to the south are proposed to provide support spaces for exhibition, education, learning, and gathering. To avoid visually crowding the Cathedral these are carefully scaled and located within the site with an extensive below ground area surrounding a lower courtyard space.
The landscape and urban design response had to sensitively accommodate a complex, multi-level site program around the Cathedral while preserving the heritage values associated with the perimeter Wigram Wall and several landmark heritage trees.
With the significant damage to the existing structure making access to the site unsafe, the project team made use of drone and ground-based 3D Laser scans to build a complete digital twin of the site. The use of Revit and BIM360 technology allows real-time collaboration and design across the multi-disciplinary consultant and contractor teams.
The new seismic isolation system challenged the team to find elegant solutions for the interface of paved surfaces with the Cathedral that met universal accessibility goals.
From both a heritage and sustainability perspective, where possible, existing materials are being salvaged and reused our repurposed on-site. This includes the reuse of Halswell stone salvaged from demolished rubble walls for feature paving areas around the perimeter of the building.
The reinstatement project includes collaboration with Marian Maquire and Dr Te Maire Tau to develop a cultural narrative overlay for the project recognising the tradition and history of the Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and identifying suitable forms of expression of this in the landscape and architectural elements of the project.
