Jennifer Sheahan: Christchurch has a design vision to inspire other cities

In 2011, an earthquake destroyed a portion of the New Zealand city and tragically took 185 lives. Jennifer Sheahan visits the renewed urban landscape 

Christchurch has been undergoing an architectural transformation that is sympathetic to its history while fully embracing modern living. File picture

I am currently travelling, visiting family in New Zealand, and when you love your job as much as I love this one then a large part of going on holidays involves visiting architecturally significant buildings and convincing locals to let you snoop around their houses. All in the name of research of course. I spent this past week in Christchurch doing just that, a city in the midst of a huge regeneration. 

You’ll remember of course that a devastating earthquake flattened a huge portion of Christchurch in 2011, and tragically took 185 lives. While future earthquakes cannot be averted, city planners are doing everything possible to prevent widespread destruction of this magnitude from happening again.