The
Christchurch Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the city of
Christchurch, New Zealand. Opened in 2003, it replaced the previous building, the
Robert McDougall Art Gallery, which had opened 70 years earlier. Designed to withstand seismic events, the gallery's foundations rest on a concrete raft slab that lies on the surface of the ground. Nevertheless, the building sustained some damage in the
2011 Christchurch earthquake that devastated much of the city, and it subsequently served as the Civil Defence headquarters during reconstruction work.
Photograph credit: Michal Klajban