‘Cathedral Chip’ for Cathedral Square

The latest project completed for CCC, laid by Krisel Contracting (a Firth customer for over 30 years) and using Firth pavers is Cathedral Square.

“Christchurch City Council have been using our paving products for many, many years,” says James Harris, Sales Representative for Firth. “The reasoning behind CCC choosing Firth paving is that we use local aggregates which reduces transport costs and reduces CO₂ emissions, and we use New Zealand Cement which is made by local ratepayers on land leased from Environment Canterbury Regional Council. Choosing Firth paving satisfies their need for New Zealand made with the lowest CO₂ emissions from manufacture.”

James says that Firth has supplied 1,550 m² of paving to date:

• Honed Piazza’s in Glacier and Graphite ‘Cathedral Chip’*
• Honed and Bush Hammered Setts in Glacier
• Honed Hollands in Glacier and Graphite ‘Cathedral Chip’
• Honed Forum in Black Sands

“Cathedral Chip was a specially made paver as requested by CCC for this square,” adds James. “It has been laid very well by Krisel and looks amazing.”

Bus Interchange

Opened in 2015, the Christchurch City Bus Interchange located on the corner of Lichfield St and Colombo St features an extended airport-style passenger lounge area and a further eight bus bays. Firth’s pavers were chosen for the platforms due to their stylish good looks, durability and dependability in high traffic areas.

“When CCC were specifying products to use for the streetscape around the exterior of the Bus Interchange they wanted to link the facility with other areas of the city, some of which were started prior to the earthquakes,” adds James. “They chose pavers that were the same size ranges to match what was used in Hereford Street and City Mall. The decision to use the Firth range was made jointly between the Council and CERA at the time as it offered them what was needed in the way of size and durability.”

Big, beautiful boulevard of paving

‘An Accessible City’ was a flagship project for Ōtākaro, the organisation tasked with delivering Crown-led anchor projects and precincts in Christchurch. This five-year long project features nearly 10,000m² of Firth pavers.

Working closely with Firth and Canterbury Concrete the Landscape Architect at the time said that Firth’s products assisted with the design when defining places for vehicles and people.

Firth Holland Set’s (200(L) x 100(W) x 80(D)mm) were used to form the ‘Infrastructure Strip’ where the majority of light poles, street furniture and kit is placed. These pavers can easily be lifted when repairs or their removal is required as and when the street requires change.

The movement zones - areas used by people, bikes and skateboarders – included the use of Firth’s Piazza pavers (400(L) x 200(W) x 80(D)mm). The combination of products helped clearly define these movement corridors.

Different finish options for the Holland Set pavers were used to break up the finished look and feel, and to add interest. A combination of rougher and smoother finishes were used with 30% of the units honed and laid in amongst the Bush Hammered pavers.