Fifteen years. The rebuild that almost faded.

I first came to Christchurch in 2014. I flew in from Sydney and stepped into a city that was still, in many places, rubble.

The 2011 earthquakes changed everything. They caused immense loss, but they also forced the industry to work differently. Architects, engineers, contractors, and owners had to collaborate. Not as a nice idea, but as a necessity. That shift led to some of the most ambitious and digitally enabled projects New Zealand has delivered.

Now, as the final anchor projects wrap up, a question remains. Did that way of working stick?

What we helped rebuild 

I was back in Christchurch on April 24th for our From Rebuild to Digital by Default event at the Town Hall. We started by looking back.

The event featured a showcase of major rebuild projects delivered using Revizto, including Waimarie Lincoln University, University of Otago, Te Pae Convention Centre, Christ Church Cathedral, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, Waipapa Hospital Tower C, and Te Kaha Stadium. These projects show how ambitious the rebuild was, and how much it relied on digital ways of working to get there. 

On the Cathedral project, stonemasons used the Revizto Site app to compare point-cloud data with the original building as they carefully documented and removed each stone, helping ensure it could later be returned to its original location. At Te Kaha Stadium, the natural grass pitch sits under a fixed roof engineered to allow the right balance of light and air in to keep the grass alive year-round, a feat only achieved once before globally. 

The conversation we needed to have

After the showcase, we shifted the focus forward. A panel of industry leaders and academics discussed what it will take to move from digital as a nice-to-have to digital by default. The discussion covered BIM adoption, procurement models, education, and AI. Workshops followed, where the wider group shared their practical perspectives and experiences.

"We are not focusing on the outcome. We are just focusing on who is going to do what."
Farzam Farzadi, Technical Director at Beca and Chair of BIMinNZ

‘’Education is the key. Not just for the next generation, but for the current workforce operating on what was taught 20-plus years ago’’
Professor Pamela Bell, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington

One thing was clear: the shift to digital by default will not happen on its own.

Walking into Te Kaha

Later that evening, I walked into Te Kaha Stadium on opening night for the Crusaders’ first Super Rugby match. As Christchurch’s final major rebuild project, it felt like a moment of closure.

Twenty-five thousand people filled the stands. What had existed as a model for years was now built, working, and alive. You could feel what it took to get there — hundreds of teams working together, years of coordination, and thousands of decisions.

What comes next

Christchurch proved that alignment, collaboration, and digital adoption can deliver better outcomes. The challenge is making that consistent. 

We are working with BIMinNZ to take the insights from the event and turn them into practical next steps.