These two images, of Colombo Street, Christchurch depict a dramatic change in the built environment. The images were sent through to us by Neil Challenger, Head of the School of Landscape Architecture and senior lecturer at Lincoln University. As Challenger rightly says, “Although ‘life has carried on’, little else has happened that was bigger, more formative or more sobering, and its effects will impact on the landscape and landscape architects for years to come.” 

Challenger has been active in the earthquake recovery process since the September 2010 earthquake, and has guest-edited a number of stories for the next issue of Landscape Architecture New Zealand, due out next week. Graduate landscape architect Hannah Ayres discusses the role of landscape architects in earthquake recovery – much bigger than might be assumed; Wendy Hoddinott, from Opus Interrnational Consultants, talks about the creation of temporary parks by Greening the Rubble; Tony Milne, from Christchurch landscape architecture firm Rough & Milne, discusses Re:Start – the pop-up retail precinct in converted shipping containers; and landscape architect Jessica Staples reports back from Pisco, Peru where she was working as part of the disater relief organisation Pisco Sin Fronteras.

Challenger says that Christchurch landscape architects have been feeding ideas to think tanks, joining competitions, making submissions on development proposals, designing, building and working on next year’s earthquake-focused NZILA conference, Shaky Ground (28, 29, 30 June).

“Christchurch’s rebuild will make the city a different and better place, a place with more interest and with more fun. As you’ll see in this issue of Landscape Architecture, it will also be a place where landscape architecture has made a big contribution.”