Auteurs
Vallis, Stacy / Orchiston, Caroline / Ingham, Jason
Mots-clés
sustainability / participation / 19th century / Neoclassicism / modern architecture / limestone / conservation / economic aspects / social aspects / prevention of deterioration / historic urban landscapes / sustainable development / technique / risk preparedness / communities / stakeholders / migrations
Résumé en anglais
New Zealand is a country with a short history of European settlement (post-1840) and a longrecord of damaging earthquakes. The Oamaru township showcases one of the country’s most intact Victorian streetscapes built using local limestone construction techniques during a nineteenth century economic boom. Following the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquake sequence, the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry (2012) suggested a nationwide problem through the proportion of deaths which occurred in public places, as a result of the prevalent historic masonry building stock. Through QuakeCoRE (NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience), researchers from the Universities of Auckland andOtago are collaborating across various research platforms to investigate the safeguarding of heritage precincts whilst addressing this urban safety hazard.Conservation of the Historic Area’s unrivalled Victorian Italianate, Neoclassical and Modern architecture is complex and is closely associated with a strong heritage tourism industry. The adoption of cost-effective and heritage-sensitive structural upgrades is explored by engaging multidisciplinary research methodologies. Constituting the initial phase of investigation, this paper presents thecompilation of a historic building database and typological classification based on input from key community stakeholders.Therefore the overall questions are posed: how may local conservation doctrine and specific architectural or construction characteristics inform the development of a typological classificationsystem for the earthquake-prone Oamaru heritage building stock? In conjunction, how may participation by building owners, local authorities, conservation architects, engineers and scientists highlight keyperceptions and drivers, to better facilitate the urban conservation of Oamaru’s historic streetscapes?
As the foundation document for conservation in New Zealand, the ICOMOS New Zealand Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value (2nd edition 2010) will provide a basis for these discussions. This will ensure that architectural and engineering or scientific commentary accompany each other, enabling holistic conservation outcomes in earthquake-prone regions such as New Zealand.