Led by Boffa Miskell under the consortium name Blueprint 100, the project team comprised specialist architecture, urban design and architecture practices.
The focus of the brief was on locating the Anchor Projects – key elements of the city’s public and amenity infrastructure. The opportunity to identify and locate additional Anchor Projects was also included in the brief.
The project’s intense time frame was one of the greatest challenges. The project had 100 days from inception to announcement. The required Cabinet approvals were part of the 100 Days, so the time available to the design team was an initial 42 days of intensive collaborative work, followed by refinement following feedback from the client and strategic partners.
Given the tight project time frame, the Blueprint 100 team based itself in Christchurch within the CCDU offices and worked intensively as a collaborative and mutually supportive cohesive team. Project personnel were all senior members of the respective practices, and able to make informed decisions and contribute to all facets of the project.
The initial phase of work involved gaining and understanding of the existing context, values, city structure and pre-quake issues, and market drivers. Five major urban design challenges were identified.
Too much space: the extent of the central city area was larger than the quantum of development that could be expected to refill it;
Extent of damage: The damage is such that there are extensive areas where there is little or no existing fabric from which to reinstate a core.
East is more affected: The loss of city fabric to the east is affected more than in the west. There are large areas of vacant land and the sense of emptiness is exacerbated by the unending east-facing streets.
Time to Fix: Unless there is intervention, it will be a significant period of time before the city feels repaired and people want to come back.
Multiple Owners: There are multiple landowners involved in the central area and comprehensive planned development will be difficult to achieve.
The spatial planning / urban design principles formulated to address these challenges and direct the Blueprint were identified.
- Compress: Compress the expected development to generate a critical mass of largely completed city fabric in the core.
- Contain: Contain the city core to the north, south and east by an open space Frame.
- Catalyse: Position Anchor Projects where they will catalyse development opportunities in between.
- Support: Locate the Anchor Projects where the existing amenity features support their success.
- Repair: Leave the parts of the central area where there is good character to self-sustaining repair.
- The River: Respond to the river corridor as the highest amenity space.
- Open Space: Insert new, and improve existing open space within new built form, within the central area.
- Complete: Secure some parts of the city as complete as expediently as possible.
- Existing Value: Reuse existing building elements to provide continuity and reference points to the city's past.
- Attract: Encourage people to the central area as a place to live, work and play.
A key attribute and strong element of the Blueprint is the boldness of the plan to scale back the commercial core - to a sustainable long-term size – to assist in creating an active vibrant city centre and to improve the amenity of the city and its residential interface in the east.
The Blueprint set out in detail the functional briefs for each Anchor Project and established a consented envelope for their built development. This level of detail would assist in the efficient delivery of each Anchor Project.
As the Blueprint was implemented – the first two projects were Te Papa Ōtākaro / the Avon River Precinct, North and East Frame; and the Convention Centre Precinct has commenced– it re-established the city as a destination and heart of the Christchurch community and created the framework for decision-making and investment by private landowners, investors and developers in central Christchurch.
Boffa Miskell was proud to have had the opportunity to lead the Christchurch Blueprint development. We viewed our appointment as a signal of the maturing of the profession of landscape architecture, as well as a milestone in the history of the Company.
