CTV Building, Memorial site in Christchurch, New Zealand
The CTV Building was a six-story office complex at the corner of Cashel Street and Madras Street. Ground-level parking supported the floors above, which housed a television broadcaster and a language school.
Construction took place during the 1980s following a design later found to be flawed. On February 22, 2011, an earthquake measuring 6.3 brought down the structure, claiming 115 lives and accounting for over half of all earthquake deaths that day.
The building took its name from Canterbury Television, which held the naming rights and occupied the ground and first floors. The broadcaster shared the address with King's Education, an English-language school whose 27 visiting students were mostly Japanese, and with Relationship Services on the top floor. The site is now a garden of remembrance.
The site at the Cashel and Madras Streets corner is now a garden of remembrance, and elements of the original foundations remain visible. It sits in Christchurch Central City, a short walk from Victoria Square. Approach on foot from the surrounding streets; the corner location is open to passers-by.
A royal commission found that the construction supervisor Gerald Shirtcliff had stolen the identity of a retired engineer from the United Kingdom. This discovery led to sweeping reforms in New Zealand's building regulation system.
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