http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10789312The quake-crippled Christ Church Cathedral will be demolished, church officials announced today.
The embattled city's most celebrated landmark building will be "deconstructed'' to a "safe'' level of 2-3 metres and will not be rebuilt.
The news was met with dismay in Christchurch.
The cathedral has been extensively damaged in the earthquakes over the last 18 months, with its spire snapping in half during the fatal 6.3-magnitude quake of February 22, 2011.
That's too bad. From an archaeologist's stand point, I hope they conserve stable aspects of the church, such as the foundations at least, and allow them to stand. The ruins would make a lovely recreational park. Likewise, store any special parts to the church in a small museum. I would also say to document the architectural style, but I'm sure they have extensive documents of that. I understand the reason why the church needs to be demolished, though. From a civic stand point, it would be foolish to rebuild a structure that has already proven not reliable in an earthquake. It would also be too expensive to create a replica or to rebuild it with earthquake engineer structure.
