171 Assignment 7

A type of symbolic universe that has been created recently is that of the future of Christchurch. Just how the World's Fair of 1939 served as a way of creating hope for the future of America after the War with the use of new and exciting design concepts, New Zealand has also used ways to ensure hope for the people that live in Christchurch and New Zealand. Through media such as the news on television and in the newspaper, ways in which Christchurch will be rebuilt in to an even better city is shared with all of New Zealand, giving hope to people affected by the earthquake. One of the ways design is helping to create this symbolic universe is creating new design ideas to earthquake proof buildings or to use the earthquake as a chance to recreate the city as a "green city". Recently a 48 hour competition was held to design the buildings on 5 earthquake damaged sites.

This winning design team was "NZ Wood":
"Their winning concept included retail and office space, affordable housing, a covered market and community rooms. They also opened up 8000m² space for people to enjoy, including a path through to Latimer Square and the river.
The team re-used the existing concrete car park by turning it into an office building and affordable housing. They then created two new buildings using ‘damage avoidance technology’ similar to that seen in the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) Art and Media building."

This is just one example of how New Zealand is changing the Christchurch earthquake from a terrible event in to one with an optimistic future, creating a symbolic universe for New Zealand with the use of design to create a better city and media to spread this message of hope.

NZ Wood (2011, July 5). NZ WOOD WINS supreme award in 48 Hour Christchurch Rebuild design competition [Press Release] Retrieved from http://www.nzwood.co.nz/industry-news/2011/07/05/nz-wood-wins-supreme-award-in-48-hour-christchurch-rebuild-design-competition/