Westpac Canterbury Centre facts for kids
The Westpac Canterbury Centre was a tall building in the middle of Christchurch, New Zealand. It stood at the corner of High Street and Cashel Street. People also called it the Westpac Building. Before a big earthquake in 2011, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city. It stood 55 meters high and had 14 floors.
The building looked special. It had round concrete pillars on its corners. Its roof was pointy and shaped like a triangle. From above, the building looked like a long, six-sided shape.
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Building History
The Westpac Canterbury Centre was built in 1983. It was made for the Trust Bank, which was then called Canterbury Savings Bank. The building was located at 166 Cashel Street.
The famous architectural company Warren and Mahoney designed the building. C.S. Luney LTD built it for about $6.4 million New Zealand dollars.
When it first opened, the ground floor of the building had a shopping area. Later, a Westpac bank branch took its place. In 2011, a person named Miles Middleton owned the building. He owned several other tall buildings in Christchurch.
Earthquakes and Damage
Christchurch had two major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. The Westpac Canterbury Centre was badly affected by these events.
2010 Canterbury Earthquake
The building was damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Many windows broke, especially on the top floors. Large pieces of concrete also broke off the outside pillars and frame. After this earthquake, no one was allowed to go inside the building.
Workers put up a fence around the tower. This was to keep people safe in case more concrete fell onto the street.
2011 Christchurch Earthquake
After the February 2011 earthquake, the Westpac Canterbury Centre was still standing. However, it was badly damaged. Experts decided it needed to be taken down.
The building was inside the red zone cordon. This was an area blocked off because many buildings there were very unsafe.
Demolition of the Building
Work to take down the building started in the middle of May 2012. The demolition took just over six months to finish.
A company from the UK, McGee Group, helped with the demolition. They spent about $120,000 to bring a special German-made digging machine called 'Goliath' to Christchurch. This powerful machine had previously helped take down the old Wembley Stadium in England.
