Arts Centre Restoration Awarded Again

The United Nations Education and Culture Organisation (UNESCO) has once again recognised the quality of post-quake restoration and conservation at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre.

At the awards ceremony UNESCO announced awards for just eight of the 52 entries in the Asia-Pacific region ranging from entire city districts to individual buildings: three in China, two in India, one in Thailand, one in Japan, and the Observatory Tower at The Arts Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.

This is the second time UNESCO has given an Asia-Pacific Award of Merit to The Arts Centre for Cultural Heritage Conservation. In 2017, the restoration of the Great Hall and Clock Tower received the same award.

The jury citation for the Observatory Tower Conservation Project reads:

“The rebuilding of the 1896 Observatory Tower after its devastation in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake is notable for its technical achievements that have enabled the revival and continuation of the landmark’s original scientific and educational mission. The reconstruction of the tower and cupola with seismic reinforcement was well executed on the basis of careful research and extensive materials testing. The technically complex reinstatement of the historic telescope to working order has allowed the building to return to its original use as a place of discovery of the southern skies. The project represents another chapter in the post-disaster recovery of The Arts Centre and of the historic city core of Christchurch.”

Philip Aldridge, Director of The Arts Centre, says “We are delighted with the recognition by UNESCO. It’s a tribute to the whole team, who devoted such skill to the work, and I’m especially pleased for Ōtautahi Christchurch that UNESCO clearly understands the historical and cultural importance of The Arts Centre.”

Key partners in the work with The Arts Centre were: DPA Architects (heritage architecture), Jenny May (heritage consultant), Warren and Mahoney (architecture), Holmes Group (project management and engineering), Rhodes + Associates (Quantity Surveyors) and Leighs Construction. One distinctive feature of The Arts Centre’s approach was the direct employment of a team of skilled stonemasons, who painstakingly dismantled the damaged tower then re-used that stone to clad the strengthened structure.

Restoration of the historic Townsend Teece Telescope was undertaken by the University of Canterbury. During winter months the university and The Arts Centre now offer heritage stargazing opportunities to the public atop the tower.

The Arts Centre restoration programme, which focused on the Gothic Revival stone buildings with Category 1 heritage status, was delivered on time and on budget, and is complete for now. Two buildings on Worcester Boulevard, originally part of the School of Engineering, have been secured pending funding; the rest are fully restored and operating.