University comes to town

University of Canterbury classics and music students have a new campus in the heart of the city.

The Chemistry Building in the heritage Arts Centre complex has been restored and fitted out to become the new University of Canterbury Arts city campus, home to up to 400 classics and music students.

Occupying four floors, it provides a library, small lecture theatre, sound-proofed music practice rooms and a recital space for music performances, as well as the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities on the ground floor.

The restored Chemistry Building is the new UC Arts city campus and home to the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities.

This museum will house the James Logie Memorial Collection, one of the university’s greatest treasures. It includes hundreds of artefacts from the Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Near Eastern cultures dating back 4000 years.

The name of the museum acknowledges alumnus Professor David Teece and his wife Leigh who donated funds towards the restoration with the aim of making the collection more accessible to the public. It will open its doors on Saturday. 

The refurbished Chemistry Building, which originally opened in 1910, retains some of the existing historic walls, while other floor areas have been opened up. A new lift has been installed and the building features the latest technology in lighting and heating.

The university fundraised $2 million towards the cost of restoring and upgrading the interior.

Students and staff have already moved into the new campus but an official opening event was held on Wednesday night with a gala evening for invited guests at the Great Hall, including Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

The inaugural exhibition at the new Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities, We Could Be Heroes: the gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks and Romans, opens to the public at 11am on Saturday and runs until October 29. Opening hours are Wednesday to Sunday from 11am until 3pm.

The Arts Centre was the home of Canterbury College, now the University of Canterbury, for more than a century until the university relocated to its present campus in Ilam from the mid-1950s.

A dedicated recital room means University of Canterbury music students and visiting musicians have greater opportunities for public performances, UC College of Arts Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Jonathan Le Cocq says.

“As well as bringing music performances and the Logie Collection to the public, the University is excited about the other opportunities this location presents to collaborate locally and internationally and to showcase the many other things we do that have broader public interest,” he says.         

UC Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr is delighted about the return to the historic site. “The move demonstrates UC’s ongoing commitment to the Christchurch rebuild and emphasises the historic link between the University and central Christchurch.”