![]() What was once a familiar and ‘taken for granted’ backdrop has gone and and deeply formed attachments, past memories of our city are in the past.Ĭities are always changing entities as old buildings are replaced by new structures. Now in post quake mode, as the city is slowly reveals its ruined self, we must accept the the gaping spaces and empty lots and realise that a part of our identity, memory and intergenerational link to the past is severed. It also served as a storage facility of stored social memories and of humanized experiences which every person who has ever lived here has been able to contribute by merely being a part of it. Our city was a strong narrative which not only provided a place to live in but gave each of us an identity, a sense of permanence and an attachment to where we belonged. On a deeper subconscious level, the loss of such a tangible cultural and historic scape is devastating. ![]() ![]() Gone are the historic buildings that men, women and children walked past, the old interiors they shopped in, the cafes they ate in, the churches they prayed in, the schools they were educated in and the offices they worked in. However, forty seconds of ground shaking on February 22nd, 2011 broke the loom, and our city fell apart, leaving us only with memories and residue of what once stood here. Each wall, facade and interior were like looms which the threads of time and social associations entwined around. Inherited from a long list of valuable contributors dating back to its inception in the 1850s, the buildings and spaces of the city were significant cultural landmarks which served generations of citizens. Up until February 22nd, 2011, the city of Christchurch was a unique, historic and cultural living and breathing entity.
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