Corner building blending past and present wins top Civic Trust award

Central-city office building wins top award DAVID KILLICK

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/ Fairfax NZ

AWARD WINNER: The Stranges building in Lichfield St has be lauded for mixing new design while referencing its architectural past.

A new office building capturing elements of its historic predecessor has won the supreme award in this year's Christchurch Civic Trust Awards.

The Stranges building, on the corner of Lichfield and High streets, was designed by architect Jasper van der Lingen, of Sheppard and Rout, and replaces a historic building that occupied the site from 1899 until the Canterbury earthquakes.

Read more: Architecture awards celebrate city's urban renewal

The Civic Trust said the design "acknowledges the original character of a major corner site and gives consideration [to] inner city urban revitalisation".

"While construction utilises 21st century design in terms of its structure and the use of materials, it also makes strong and meaningful references to its architectural past," it said.

The building was among the first to be completed in the inner city's former earthquake red zone.

Trust chairman Neil Roberts said the trust, which has been in existence for nearly 50 years, was "shifting its focus slightly away from the heritage architecture emphasis it has had in the past".

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Corner building blending past and present wins top Civic Trust award