[ad_1]
Christchurch City Council has been awarded heritage status in recognition of its “outstanding international and national importance.”
The brutalist building has been named a Category 1 Historic Site on the New Zealand / Rārangi Kōrero Heritage List.
The Kilmore St site opened in 1972, having been designed by Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney.
Heritage New Zealand’s Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor Robyn Burgess said the building’s new heritage status was part of a movement over the past 15 years to recognize more modernist architecture.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
The brutalist architectural design of Christchurch City Hall has been recognized for its national significance.
“Sadly, many in Christchurch were lost as a result of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes, so it is doubly nice to see that Christchurch City Hall is now recognized as a Category 1 Historic Site.”
The listing does not provide the building with any legal protection, but recognizes its exceptional heritage importance.
READ MORE:
* Canterbury’s award-winning architecture includes the ‘unpretentious’
* Christchurch City Council repair investigation likely after a one-year delay and cost of $ 40 million
* Maurice Mahoney: the gentle giant of Kiwi architecture
The building already has protections under the Christchurch District Plan as a “major heritage feature.”
The Christchurch City Council suffered extensive damage in the 2011 earthquake, including liquefaction and ground movement.
It was fully restored at a cost of $ 167 million and reopened in February 2019. The project budget soared by almost $ 40 million.
Today, it hosts performances, concerts, and conferences and has a capacity of 2,250 people.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
James Hay Theater, one of the many performance venues in Christchurch City Hall.
The building is an example of post-WWII modernism.
To select the design, a two-stage competition was announced in 1965. It was open to all registered New Zealand architects and was the largest competition of its kind at the time.
The brutalist style is seen in the exposed structural elements, utilitarian materials, and concrete columns.
The elliptical concert hall was designed to increase the sense of participation of the audience.
The Heritage New Zealand listing report was written by Dr. Ian Lochhead, who edited the book, Christchurch City Hall 1965 – 2019: A renewed dream.
“Christchurch City Hall was designed in the climate of acoustic uncertainty resulting from the acoustic failure of recent major international concert venues,” he said.
“No other building in New Zealand has had an influence on world architecture to compare it to.”
