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Implosion of Radio Network House
The implosion of Radio Network House in 2012 was the first implosion used in New Zealand to demolish a building, and was a "test case" for the potential to use such a demolition method on similar buildings in Christchurch Central City that had been damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Like most other large buildings in central Christchurch, Radio Network House was damaged beyond repair in the 2011 earthquake, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) added it to the demolition list in August 2011. In July 2012, it was announced that the building was going to be imploded, involving a specialist company from the United States with considerable experience in this type of work.
The right to push the button for the implosion was put up for auction on Trade Me, and became that website's third most viewed auction. The winning bid of NZ$26,000 was made by a consortium of demolition contractors, who allowed the Child Cancer Foundation to nominate a six-year-old boy from Queenstown to trigger the event. The implosion, which was carefully monitored to assess the suitability of this demolition method for potential future applications, went without any problems and it is anticipated that this will have paved the way for many more implosions in New Zealand in general, and in Christchurch in particular. But as of 2020, only one further implosion has been carried out.
Radio Network House was a 14-storey 61 metres (200 ft) tall office tower constructed in 1986. The building was located at 155 Worcester Street, on the north side of the street and in the block between Manchester Street and Latimer Square. For its last twelve years Radio Network House was owned by Greg Hedges through his company Nor West Arch No.4 Ltd.
The building was first operated as the Christchurch studio for Television New Zealand (TVNZ), who displayed their logo on the building. Shows such as What Now, After School, Simon Barnett's quiz show Face the Music and later The Son of a Gunn Show were filmed in the tower block. TVNZ vacated the building in late 1998 following a decision to move all of their Christchurch-produced shows to Wellington. In the late 1990s, Telstra New Zealand, the telecommunications company of Telstra in New Zealand, owned the naming rights to the building. After Clear Communications was acquired in December 2001 to form TelstraClear, the Clear logo was prominently displayed on the building. The building's naming rights were sold to The Radio Network and it was renamed to Radio Network House during the ownership of Nor West Arch No.4 Ltd. At the time of demolition the logo of Newstalk ZB, a subsidiary of The Radio Network, was displayed on the building.
The Canterbury region was hit by a series of earthquakes, and the office building was damaged beyond repair by the earthquake on 22 February 2011. About 400 people worked in the building before the earthquakes. Following the earthquakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) was set up to manage the recovery process.
On 30 August 2011, CERA added Radio Network House to the list of buildings to be demolished. On 17 July 2012, the local Canterbury newspaper The Press reported that implosion of Radio Network House had been approved by CERA. The same day, a press conference was held, where representatives of the demolition companies involved and of CERA addressed the media. The main contractor for the demolition was Naylor Love, who engaged Ceres New Zealand for the implosion. Ceres in turn partnered with Controlled Demolition, Inc., an American company based in Phoenix, Maryland, that has a track record of 9,000 implosions and is considered a world leader in the field. The large number of tall buildings still to be demolished in Christchurch made the implosion of Radio Network House a test case, as the technique had not been applied to New Zealand buildings before. The implosion was challenging for Controlled Demolition, Inc., as New Zealand buildings are designed to withstand earthquake loading and thus have much more reinforcing in them than the buildings they usually deal with.
Before demolition, buildings are stripped of their contents, including internal plasterboard linings. As the fees for dumping demolition waste have risen since the earthquakes, it is more economical for demolition contractors to produce 'clean' demolition material. Holes were drilled into support columns of the building and filled with a total of some 60 kilograms (130 lb) of explosives, which when set off, would destroy the support structure and cause the collapse of the building. A challenge for the demolition contractor was that explosives available in New Zealand are low-velocity and low-energy.
A representative from Ceres stated that the implosion would shorten the demolition process by some six weeks and would save money. Costs were around NZ$1m for the implosion, compared to some NZ$1.2m for a conventional demolition, with the owner's building insurance covering the costs. The owner of the building, however, stated that the implosion was not a cheaper option for his company than a conventional demolition, but it "would save others thousands". He likened the consent process to Christopher Columbus wanting to sail to America, with everybody telling him that it could not be done.
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Implosion of Radio Network House
The implosion of Radio Network House in 2012 was the first implosion used in New Zealand to demolish a building, and was a "test case" for the potential to use such a demolition method on similar buildings in Christchurch Central City that had been damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Like most other large buildings in central Christchurch, Radio Network House was damaged beyond repair in the 2011 earthquake, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) added it to the demolition list in August 2011. In July 2012, it was announced that the building was going to be imploded, involving a specialist company from the United States with considerable experience in this type of work.
The right to push the button for the implosion was put up for auction on Trade Me, and became that website's third most viewed auction. The winning bid of NZ$26,000 was made by a consortium of demolition contractors, who allowed the Child Cancer Foundation to nominate a six-year-old boy from Queenstown to trigger the event. The implosion, which was carefully monitored to assess the suitability of this demolition method for potential future applications, went without any problems and it is anticipated that this will have paved the way for many more implosions in New Zealand in general, and in Christchurch in particular. But as of 2020, only one further implosion has been carried out.
Radio Network House was a 14-storey 61 metres (200 ft) tall office tower constructed in 1986. The building was located at 155 Worcester Street, on the north side of the street and in the block between Manchester Street and Latimer Square. For its last twelve years Radio Network House was owned by Greg Hedges through his company Nor West Arch No.4 Ltd.
The building was first operated as the Christchurch studio for Television New Zealand (TVNZ), who displayed their logo on the building. Shows such as What Now, After School, Simon Barnett's quiz show Face the Music and later The Son of a Gunn Show were filmed in the tower block. TVNZ vacated the building in late 1998 following a decision to move all of their Christchurch-produced shows to Wellington. In the late 1990s, Telstra New Zealand, the telecommunications company of Telstra in New Zealand, owned the naming rights to the building. After Clear Communications was acquired in December 2001 to form TelstraClear, the Clear logo was prominently displayed on the building. The building's naming rights were sold to The Radio Network and it was renamed to Radio Network House during the ownership of Nor West Arch No.4 Ltd. At the time of demolition the logo of Newstalk ZB, a subsidiary of The Radio Network, was displayed on the building.
The Canterbury region was hit by a series of earthquakes, and the office building was damaged beyond repair by the earthquake on 22 February 2011. About 400 people worked in the building before the earthquakes. Following the earthquakes, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) was set up to manage the recovery process.
On 30 August 2011, CERA added Radio Network House to the list of buildings to be demolished. On 17 July 2012, the local Canterbury newspaper The Press reported that implosion of Radio Network House had been approved by CERA. The same day, a press conference was held, where representatives of the demolition companies involved and of CERA addressed the media. The main contractor for the demolition was Naylor Love, who engaged Ceres New Zealand for the implosion. Ceres in turn partnered with Controlled Demolition, Inc., an American company based in Phoenix, Maryland, that has a track record of 9,000 implosions and is considered a world leader in the field. The large number of tall buildings still to be demolished in Christchurch made the implosion of Radio Network House a test case, as the technique had not been applied to New Zealand buildings before. The implosion was challenging for Controlled Demolition, Inc., as New Zealand buildings are designed to withstand earthquake loading and thus have much more reinforcing in them than the buildings they usually deal with.
Before demolition, buildings are stripped of their contents, including internal plasterboard linings. As the fees for dumping demolition waste have risen since the earthquakes, it is more economical for demolition contractors to produce 'clean' demolition material. Holes were drilled into support columns of the building and filled with a total of some 60 kilograms (130 lb) of explosives, which when set off, would destroy the support structure and cause the collapse of the building. A challenge for the demolition contractor was that explosives available in New Zealand are low-velocity and low-energy.
A representative from Ceres stated that the implosion would shorten the demolition process by some six weeks and would save money. Costs were around NZ$1m for the implosion, compared to some NZ$1.2m for a conventional demolition, with the owner's building insurance covering the costs. The owner of the building, however, stated that the implosion was not a cheaper option for his company than a conventional demolition, but it "would save others thousands". He likened the consent process to Christopher Columbus wanting to sail to America, with everybody telling him that it could not be done.