East Frame Regeneration
Urban Design  
 

East Frame Regeneration

Client:
Fletcher Living

Location:
Ōtautahi Christchurch

Completion:
2015

Size:
7.7ha

Contact:
Carsten Auer

The East Frame is a key element of Christchurch’s Central City Recovery Plan which was put in place following the devastating Canterbury earthquakes. Conceived in collaboration with DKO Architecture as a 150 to 200m wide strip stretching from the Avon River in the north to Lichfield Street in the south, it will form the CBD’s new eastern edge.

Together with the South Frame and the Avon River, the East Frame will help form a more compact city core. The Frame covers 7.7ha of predominantly brownfield land, which has been cleared in the wake of the earthquakes. In its centre a linear park provides a landscaped spine. The land either side will be developed as housing in a desire to increase the residential population in the city centre and bring with it community life.

The master plan proposes three precincts: Avon, Latimer and Lichfield – each with their distinct characters derived from their location and context.

The Avon precinct in the north is centred around the River and Margaret Mahy family playground, offering green city living ideal for families. The retained MED building will be re-purposed and form the northern entry to the linear park.

Latimer precinct sits in the middle – connected by Worcester Street to Cathedral Square and Latimer Park. Latimer presents classical urban living that builds on Christchurch’s heritage. The historical Christchurch Club is also located in this neighbourhood.

Lichfield Precinct in the south combines the green of the linear park with the light industrial heritage of the area, resulting in different and diverse opportunities of city living. The retained Cashel Chambers, Pavilion car park and IRD building will be converted, enlarged and integrated to strengthen this new neighbourhood’s identity.

The three precincts are formally and materially distinct and comprise a variety of residential typologies, offering diverse central city living.

MoreLess

Christchurch’s diversity makes the city unique. The North and East Frame has been reconstructed into three precincts; Avon, Latimer and Lichfield each with their own characteristics that are already embryonically evident on the ground in Christchurch. These characteristics and personalities are transposed into the master plan and encompass a number of diverse neighbourhoods providing for multiple lifestyles.

One city
The Frame
Three precincts
Seventeen parks
Fifteen neighbourhoods
Diverse central city living for all

Lichfield Precinct

A high-energy mashup of creative styles and connectivity. Avant Garde with design grit and a high octane environment – there’s always something going on. Apartment lofts and warehouse spaces create the backdrop, with a labyrinth of hidden places and urban parks.

Lichfield Precinct Massing

Memories of its light industrial past are reinterpreted into a magnetic neighbourhood of contrasts – old and new, small lanes and generous park space. Lichfield revels in its context, revealing expansive warehouse spaces, loft living and a quirky grid linking student communities, the Innovation Precinct and Strange’s lane.

Lichfield Precinct Plan

Lichfield Precinct Environmental Study

Lichfield Super Lot 7

Typical Lower Floor Plan

Typical Upper Floor Plan

‘The Revenue’

‘The Switches’

‘The Lofts’

‘The Bedford’

‘Bedford Row’

‘Bedford Lane’

Client:
Fletcher Living

Location:
Ōtautahi Christchurch

Completion:
2015

Size:
7.7ha

Contact:
Carsten Auer