We are very happy to say that our building was given the all clear on Friday so we are back to business as usual, with the exception of a massive amount of repair work going on in the blocks around us. If you’re planning a visit, please note that there are a few road closures to be aware of.

Manchester Street remains closed between Cashel Street and Worcester Street. There is pedestrian access into Bedford Row from the Manchester Street end, but it is closed to vehicles. By car, you can enter Bedford Row from the Madras Street end.

We have marked the main two closures on the map on our contact page. If you’re unsure of the best way to come, feel free to give us a call on 379 9860.

Like many Christchurch dwellers, I’m finding it hard to comprehend the scale of what we are facing in the weeks to come. This afternoon’s shock is the demolition of the New Zealand Express Company Limited building, a really beautiful building on Manchester Street that I have always admired but until today never knew the history of. Now that I have learnt some of its history, its demise is even more distressing.

“New Zealand Express Company Limited, a furniture despatch business, had formerly occupied a small office in Bedford Row. When this seven-storey building was erected it became an indication of the prosperity and growth in the business community in Christchurch. Designed by the Luttrell Brothers, the building was the tallest in New Zealand at the time.”

- Christchurch City Libraries, http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/

I’m not ashamed to say this brought tears to my eyes – I hope that once Christchurch has recovered from the initial shock of Saturday’s earthquake, we can recapture the hope and pride that creates a building like this, beautiful and symbolic of success.

Following Saturday’s earthquake we were finally able to get into Bedford Row on foot yesterday (with army escort!) and see how our building had fared. The news is better than we expected – the building looks virtually untouched, with the exception of one large crack in the facade above the double doors (not visible in the photo above), resulting in a yellow sticker. This means we have restricted access – at this stage we are able to enter the premises (at our own risk) to retrieve business essentials, but we won’t be able to work from our office until it has been assessed further. Which is fine by us – after last night’s encore performance of magnitude 5.0 aftershocks we are quite happy to continue working off site!

Inside, our office looks almost just as we left it on Friday – the only evidence of an earthquake was a few open drawers. We were expecting at the very least to have a fair amount of broken glass to clear up in the kitchen, but every single glass was still intact on our rickety old kitchen shelves! We have been very, very lucky.

Next door is a different story – they have a red sticker, meaning it’s a no-go area. It appears to be due to a collapsed interior wall. Although it seems bad, a red sticker doesn’t necessarily mean the building is condemned, so we are keeping fingers crossed for our neighbours and for us, as their building is attached to ours.

We would like to reassure our clients that their files are all safe and backed up off site. Mel and I are both available and can be reached by email or on our mobiles – you can find all our contact details by clicking the contact link above. We are currently waiting for the second assessment of 16 Bedford Row and will keep you posted!

Christchurch was hit by a large earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) early on Saturday morning. Mel and I are both safe and well, but as the central city is still cordoned off, we haven’t been able to get into Board of Design. We are working off-site today and can be reached by email or on 021 2525 789 for urgent enquiries. We will update here as we find out more.