The Crossing

The Crossing is the centre of the retail precinct in Christchurch. It is built around the existing historic buildings and contains a carpark building and a mix of retail, hospitality and office in over 55 tenancies. All buildings, including the carpark building facing Lichfield St, are designed with active retail edges at ground level along the street and laneway frontages.  Office tenancies occupy the upper levels of the complex. The buildings are purposely designed as individual parts that combine to offer a variety of spaces and experiences to the streetscapes and within the laneways. They repeat the finer ‘grain’ of buildings reminiscent of pre-quake Christchurch.  They are of differing scales and character utilising different materials and architecture. The laneways are open light-filled spaces designed to a human scale that provide exciting pedestrian links through the complex and the surrounding city. This includes a first-floor connection across the existing air bridge with Ballantynes. Laneways are purposely constrained at some points and widen up at others. They meet at the central courtyard that contains the ‘focal’ building of The Crossing.  The building is purposely shaped and positioned so glimpses of it can be seen from the laneway entries. The façade is clad in a sculptural screen designed to draw people in with it only being completely revealed once within the courtyard itself.