The following film was commissioned in 2012 to accompany the awards. Time may erase images of the full extent of the destruction of our city in our minds – and it is easy to forget landmarks and think ‘I can’t remember what was there before!’ We need visual reminders of our past culture.

This film features some twenty Heritage buildings that have gone forever. We will be reminded of the damage the earthquake caused and it will focus on the empty space that now exists. It is that empty space that the Heritage Awards team will be monitoring and it is that empty space that features in the 2016 update.

Will these empty sites see heritage of the future? Will they articulate motifs of predecessors? Will they be a worthy successor, or will they be another mindless and bland building that could exist anywhere in the world. Or are the sites still unbuilt upon.