List of tallest buildings in Christchurch

This list of tallest buildings in Christchurch ranks high-rise buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand by height. The first high-rise was Manchester Courts, which was the city's tallest building from 1906 until 1967. Manchester Courts was demolished following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Six more buildings have held the title of tallest building in Christchurch. The current tallest building is the Pacific Tower, which was finished in 2010 and rises to 86 metres (282 ft). Most of the high-rises were demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Of the 50 buildings in the list, 13 are to remain, 2 have their fate yet to be decided, 1 demolition is underway, and 34 have already been demolished.

This lists ranks Christchurch high-rises that stand at least 35 metres (115 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details and include antenna masts.

Manchester Courts, earlier known as the MLC Building, was the city's first commercial high-rise building. Built in 1905–1906 for the New Zealand Express Company, it was at the time the tallest commercial building in Christchurch. A Category I heritage building since 1991, it suffered serious structural damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and was condemned to be demolished. Demolition began on 19 October 2010, and was completed in February 2011.

The BNZ Building in Cathedral Square has one of the oldest histories of the buildings listed here, as it replaced the earlier BNZ Building from 1866. The replacement was begun in 1961 as a four-storey building designed by Christchurch architect G. W. Bucknell. Work ceased abruptly in 1963, when the bank announced that they would redevelop the whole site (which included the removal of the historic bank building) and incorporate the four-storey building into the high-rise. The 43 metres (141 ft) high-rise was designed by Sydney firm Stephenson and Turner and completed in 1967.

Since 2007 only three high-rises have been constructed in Christchurch: the HSBC Tower designed by Weirwalker Architecture in Worcester Boulevard the Novotel Hotel in the Square and Pacific Tower in Gloucester Street. All three buildings survived the earthquakes. The HSBC Tower, which first opened in 2009, was the first high-rise to open again after the February 2011 earthquake, with the first tenants moving back in on 30 May 2011. The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority later moved into the top floors of the building, with CEO Roger Sutton's office the "highest office in town". Pacific Tower, which houses apartments and the Rendezvous Hotel, was repaired and reopened on 1 May 2013. The Novotel Hotel was repaired and reopened on 19 August 2013.

...
Wikipedia