Hamish Keith is an Auckland-based arts and social commentator.
On the rubble and pain of the 1931 earthquake, Napier built a remarkable city. A city that is remarkable still. They designed and built with foresight and optimism a city that did not try to remake its past, but that would be seen to be new and now.
They took for their model the then-new town of Santa Barbara - re-planned and rebuilt after a major earthquake in 1926. There is a lesson there for Christchurch. Much of that city's heritage remains remarkably intact although a handful of marvellous buildings have been harmed and a few have gone or will go.
What has been lost is a texture of a past time - buildings not remarkable in themselves, but which together comprised a familiar and reassuring surface that seemed in some ways to hold the place together. They gave it a character that seemed unique and accessible.
Of all our cities, Christchurch has always seemed to be one with plenty of architectural talent and intelligence. It should use that resource.
The city should not be rebuilt piecemeal or haphazardly but with some overall and coherent architectural idea, that will replace - not replicate or imitate - the visual glue that held it together.
And it should not only aim to restore the character that has been lost, but also replace the nature of the buildings destroyed. Low rise, mixed use and above all accessible. Buildings are after all not just physical things. They support particular populations.
The character of Christchurch was more than the bricks and stones of the buildings it has lost - it was also the people who were able and happy to live and trade in them. After disaster there is always opportunity. The real opportunities are about people. The risk is that the rebuilt city could be bland, beautiful and empty. This is not a chance for developers - it is a great chance for a fine and elegant city.
