Boutique shopping block built from 11 × 40ft repurposed shipping containers. Post-earthquake delivery under CREA OIC requirements. First tenants in 10 weeks from a clear site.
A boutique shopping block on the corner of Merivale Lane and Papanui Road — BF Property’s first new-build commercial project, delivered in 2011 in the immediate aftermath of the Canterbury earthquake sequence.
The site had previously held the historic ‘Highway Lodge’, which had been substantially upgraded over 18 months before being damaged beyond practical repair in the September 2010 earthquake. The demolition recovered approximately 80% of the original materials: roofing tiles were cleaned, palletised and sent to a restoration project in Sydney; the majority of the timber was remachined for furniture and woodworking.
The new building was constructed under CREA Order in Council requirements, which mandated ‘removable buildings’ at the time. The solution: 11 × 40-foot repurposed shipping containers, engineered off site and assembled on site like a large jigsaw puzzle. First tenants moved in 10 weeks from a clear site.
BF Property managed the complete project from demolition of the existing building through to tenant handover. Following demolition, approximately 80% of the original building’s materials were recovered and recycled.
The new structure was engineered using 11 × 40-foot repurposed shipping containers — prefabricated off site and assembled on the Papanui Road site. Seven different engineering disciplines were involved. The application of repurposed shipping containers as a building material for commercial tenancies was a first for Christchurch City Council, requiring significant coordination with council and engineers while the ground was still experiencing aftershocks.
First tenants operating within 10 weeks of site clearance. Seven engineering disciplines coordinated. A genuinely novel construction method navigated through council for the first time under post-earthquake planning rules — and a new commercial home for businesses that would otherwise have lost their foothold in the city.
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