New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga Registration Report for a Historic Place Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building Wilson, P, Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building, Heathcote Valley, Christchurch, August 2005, NZHPT Southern Region Pamela Wilson Draft: last amended 20 March 2008 New Zealand Historic Places Trust © TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 1. IDENTIFICATION 4 1.1. Name of Place 4 1.2. Location Information 4 1.3. Current Legal Description 4 1.4. Physical Extent of Place Assessed for Registration 4 1.5. Identification Eligibility 4 1.6. Physical Eligibility as an Historic Place 4 2. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 5 2.1. Historical Description and Analysis 5 2.2. Physical Description and Analysis 8 2.3. Chattels 9 2.4. Key Physical Dates 9 2.5. Construction Professionals 10 2.6. Construction Materials 10 2.7. Former Uses 10 2.8. Current Uses 10 2.9. Discussion of Sources 11 3. SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT 13 3.1. Section 23 (1) Assessment 13 3.2. Section 23 (2) Assessment 14 4. OTHER INFORMATION 17 4.1. Associated NZHPT Registrations 17 4.2. Heritage Protection Measures 17 5. APPENDICES 18 5.1. Appendix 1: Visual Identification Aids 18 5.2. Appendix 2: Visual Aids to Historical Information 23 5.3. Appendix 3: Visual Aids to Physical Information 25 5.4. Appendix 4: Significance Assessment Information 28 Registration Report For A Historic Place 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building, built in 1963-4 at 1 Bridle Path Road in Christchurch, is a significant work in the development of New Zealand architecture. The building was located at the western end of the newly constructed road tunnel linking Christchurch to the port of Lyttelton. It was built to house the staff who controlled all aspects of the tunnel’s operations, including the toll booths across the motorway. By 1979 the collection of tolls ceased and the booths were removed. The Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority commissioned the building and considered the tunnel as a prime point of entry to Canterbury. The Authority wanted a grand, impressive building which would reflect this status and also include some symbolic references to its location at the Christchurch end of the Bridle Path, the route the early settlers took from Lyttelton after their arrival from England in 1850.1 Canterbury’s founding settlers had initially arrived in four ships and this building’s design was conceived as a symbol of a ‘fifth ship’ that was ‘moored’ alongside the road. The architect Peter Beaven created a monumental structure which provides a vertical accent alongside the horizontal motorway. The structure, formed to suggest the tub shape of a ship, is built on bulb pile foundations inserted deeply into the rock beneath the fill added to form the new roadway into the tunnel. These foundations are left exposed, to form a large undercroft to the structure around which the low planting of the immediate environs is indicative of a small metaphorical lake in which the ship is moored. It has a frame of columns and double beams which support the cantilevered top section of two floors and a penthouse. Fairfaced concrete and glass enclose the building, with glass partitions frequently used to divide the interior. The open main staircase rising through the centre of the building has a monumental open form, providing a vertical element which contrasts with the overall horizontal emphasis of the structure. Beaven’s design reflects the Modern Movement’s principle of form following function and also illustrates Beaven’s idiosyncratic and innovative approach to design through the inclusion of symbolism and regional references. It is an important example of Beaven’s contribution to the distinctive character of New Zealand architecture. 1 The Bridle Path is registered Historic Area by the NZHPT. Registration Report For A Historic Place 3 1. IDENTIFICATION2 1.1. Name of Place Name: Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building Other Names: Lyttelton Tunnel Control Building Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority Building 1.2. Location Information Address 1 Bridle Path Road Heathcote Valley Christchurch Canterbury Additional Location Information Corner of Bridle Path Road and Tunnel Road (State Highway 74) Local Authority: Christchurch City Council 1.3. Current Legal Description Pt Lot 3 DP 2907 (NZ Gazette 1963, p.665), Canterbury Land District 1.4. Physical Extent of Place Assessed for Registration Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Lot 3 DP 2907, Canterbury Land District, and the building known as the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building thereon, and its fittings and fixtures. It is bounded by enclosing roads on three sides and on the fourth, southern side the access bridge and an extension of the line from it to the motorway forms the final boundary line. Other items within this boundary, including the Lyttelton- Woolston pipeline and block valve, telemetry data communication pole and associated cabling, are excluded from the registration. Also excluded from the registration is the canopy which extends across the road and formerly covered the toll booths, as this is planned for removal in 2008. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 for further information). 1.5. Identification Eligibility There is sufficient information included in this report to identify this place. 1.6. Physical Eligibility as an Historic Place This place consists of a building that is affixed to land that lies within the territorial limits of New Zealand. This place is therefore physically eligible for consideration as a historic place. 2 This section is supplemented by visual aids in Appendix 1 of the report. Registration Report For A Historic Place 4 2. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 2.1. Historical Description and Analysis The Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building was completed in May 1964. The distinctive Modernist structure was built to provide toll booths and accommodation for the service and administration staff for the recently completed tunnel. The tunnel (completed in February, 1964) was constructed to provide shorter road access between the Port Lyttelton and the Canterbury Plains. The building’s unique architectural form and styling have been acknowledged since it was constructed, earning its status as one of Christchurch’s most iconic buildings. Christchurch’s links to the port of Lyttelton were problematic from the earliest days of the province’s settlement, with the Port Hills a significant barrier to access. When the issue of providing direct access to the port was discussed in 1851 the possibility of a road tunnel was considered and rejected, in part because of fear that horses would catch cold coming into a cold tunnel from the hot plains.3 Development of the road over Evans Pass was the first solution, greatly improved when the rail link via a tunnel was completed in 1867. Although better roads had been constructed and were well used, the growth of road transport increased the need for a road tunnel. As early as 1919 an Australian firm prepared plans for a road tunnel at an estimated cost of £700,000, but was unable to convince authorities that this was a necessity.4 However, by 1956 it was agreed that the need was now urgent and it was time for action. The Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority was set up by an Act of Parliament to construct a tunnel and organize the collection of tolls to cover the costs. Work on the 1.9 kilometre tunnel began in 1961 and it was completed and formally opened on 27 February, 1964. At the Christchurch portal of the tunnel an administration building with adjoining toll plaza was required to serve as the nerve centre for the whole operation. The Authority wanted the administrative building and toll booths to not only serve this essential function but also to have a ‘monumental appearance and some symbolism to underline the historic access used by the pioneers to give access to the Plains at this point in the hills’.5 The end of the Bridle Path, the most direct route historically taken by newly arrived settlers journeying from the port, is the site of the tunnel’s entrance at the head of the Heathcote Valley. The Authority also recognised the Christchurch tunnel end as an important point of entry to the city, like Christchurch Airport, and wished it to reflect this status by the grandeur of its form and design. Architect Peter Beaven, who was commissioned in 1961 to plan the building, was chosen because of his already established reputation as a skilled designer with strong regional affinities. 3 Christchurch –Lyttelton Road Tunnel, p.1 4 Ibid 5 Home and Building. June 1st, 1965, p.71 Registration Report For A Historic Place 5 Beaven’s design fulfilled the Authority’s wishes with a building that met all the requirements of the brief and the building was immediately acclaimed for its dramatic, evocative appearance. He interpreted the symbolism the Authority had suggested by an imaginative building in a ship-like form which he used to represent a ‘fifth ship’ as an addition to the ‘First Four Ships’ which had brought the initial group of Canterbury settlers to the province in December, 1850. ‘Moored’ in this hilly setting beside a ‘wharf’, the motorway approaching the tunnel portal, with the tollbooths under their canopy providing the linkage between the two as a symbolic ‘mooring line’. The building embodied the concept of the journey undertaken by the founding settlers and also referred to the adjoining Bridle Path. Covering 117,500 square feet and costing £115,000 to build, the administration building was intended to be grand in scale, bold in appearance and constructed of ‘good materials’.6 When there was some criticism of the possible costs compared with the original estimate by the Ministry of Works, Beaven responded that the Ministry had ‘no idea of what was wanted and at the time a tin shed might have been considered appropriate’.7 Apart from the essential purpose of collecting tolls, the administration building had wide ranging functions.