Clock Tower Building Hornby Christchurch New Zealand

The Hornby Clocktower (also known as the Hornby Clock Tower or simply as the clock tower to local residents) was an iconic

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

building, situated in the suburb of

Hornby Hornby may refer to: Places In England * Hornby, Lancashire * Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire * Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere * Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...

on New Zealand State Highway 1. It marked the southern entrance to Christchurch for over 50 years. Less than three months after a full refurbishment in 2010, the building was damaged in the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

and subsequent

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

s. It was demolished by October 2014.

History

1960s original building

The original incarnation of the building was constructed some time during the 1960s, and was designed by

Don Donnithorne Donald Ewart Donnithorne (31 July 1926 – 5 August 2016) was a New Zealand architect based in Christchurch. Born on 31 July 1926, and raised in Timaru, Donnithorne was the son of hotelkeepers. Following World War II he studied architecture by ...

. During its early usage, it was home to the Central Canterbury Electric Power Board.

2010 refurbishment

The building was refurbished in 2010 and completed by December of that year. It had been redesigned by Wilson and Hill Architects and was managed by Epoch Property. The upper five floors of the tower were designated as office space. The ground level was reserved for retail space, initially occupied by

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'Coffee Culture'. It was the only company to rent space in the building after the refurbishment. Outside of the Hornby Clocktower are a separate series of retail stores in the style of a strip mall, designed as an addition to the tower during its final refurbishment, and which still exist after demolition. Hornby Clocktower Demolition

Earthquake damage

The building was largely undamaged by the

2010 Canterbury earthquake The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake) struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at on , and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. Som ...

during the refurbishment. Less than three months after completion, the tower suffered damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Following strong

aftershocks In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

in December 2011, it was vacated for the final time. Epoch Property claimed in early 2012 that they wanted to keep the Clocktower, but believed it wouldn't be financially viable to repair the building, and were considering demolition.

Demolition

Demolition work began on the tower at the end of August 2014. It was completed in October that year. By 2016, the site had been replaced by a

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fast food restaurant.

References

{{Coord, 43, 32, 36.46, S, 172, 31, 39.68, E, region:NZ_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures demolished as a result of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake Buildings and structures in Christchurch 1960s architecture in New Zealand