The outrage and tragedy of the building collapse led to an investigation into the collapse. The investigation launched after the earthquake found that the engineers constructing the building lacked sufficient experience and knowledge to construct the six-story building (Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission, 2012). The report released following the investigation found several other failures that occurred in the planning and construction phases of the CTV building contributing to the collapse and resulting deaths. Sara said that due to the mistakes made during construction and lack of oversight, “we failed the 120 people who died in that building” (S. McBride, personal communication, February 20, 2014). The CTV building is a clear example of the importance of building standards and the need for safety checks during the design and construction processes. The CTV and other building collapses sparked conversation about building safety. As Sara explained, “when you talk about building safety, people are like yawn, that’s really boring…. before Christchurch, there weren’t a lot of people talking about building safety” (S. McBride, personal communication, February 20, 2014). After the earthquake, Christchurch became an example of a big earthquake causing building failure and mass casualties in a developed nation. Lucy explained the complexities of rebuilding Christchurch:
A sign commemorating the CTV building hangs on the fence A poem hanging on thethe fence surrounding site.surrounding the CTV site.
“People talked about grieving for a lost Christchurch. My lost Christchurch is not the same as her lost Christchurch. For example, my church fell down. I miss that church but it’s not because of the bricks and mortar of it or stones and foundation of it, I miss it because it’s where my children were baptized. I miss 14 | Inhabiting the Quake