An exhibition: Before / After, recently opened in Christchurch at the Art Gallery, regarding the September earthquake and subsequent aftershocks down in Canterbury. A link to their website is here. It notes:

“Let’s build a better Canterbury
BEFORE AFTER is an exhibition and discussion series that explores our built environment and seeks to connect with the public. The aim is to work with the public in identifying opportunities to create a better and more liveable region after the Canterbury Earthquake.”

The exhibition runs until 20th March, and there are a number of associated events:

Environmental Planning – Thurs 17 February, 6pm

Urban Design – Thurs 24 February, 6pm

Heritage and Character – Thurs 3 March, 6pm

Residential – Thurs 10 March, 6pm

Transport and Infrastructure – Tues 15 March, 6pm

Drawing from a collective mind: Positive lessons from an earthquake
Lecture by Ian Athfield – Thurs 31 March, 6pm

As an NZIA-initiated exhibition, this is an important step, not just for the region, but also for the NZIA – it is not normally this forth-coming into the public arena, and congratulations for this must go to Jasper van der Lingen, the chair of the local branch. It seems he has managed to stir the architects into action down there. What would it take to stir up the local architects up here?