The office at 229 Lichfield Street in Christchurch was originally the showroom for the attached warehouse. The buildings were badly damaged in the February 2011 Earthquake, with the warehouse subsequently demolished.

We strengthened the structure by bolting oversize steelwork to the outside, which subsequently expressed the structural grid of the building. This was initially done for aesthetic reasons, and to make the resilience of the building obvious, but it also worked very well for the engineering requirements.

The material palette used reflects the owners business as structural engineers, and the work they’re doing in repairing the earthquake damaged buildings in Christchurch. It stands as a symbol of survival and robustness surrounded by cleared sites, broken buildings and infrastructure.

Photography

Stephen Goodenough