The Arts Centre and Townsend Observatory Tower were extensively damaged during the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-2012, with the tower suffering catastrophic collapse. DPA Architects acted as Heritage Architects and Consultants for the restoration of the Arts Centre complex of buildings, working alongside the lead architects for the project, Warren and Mahoney.
DPA Architects were awarded a 2023 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Canterbury Heritage Award for the rebuild and restoration of the Observatory Tower, designed in 1896 by Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort. Mountfort's original drawings served as invaluable guides throughout the restoration, with his meticulous floor plans, elevations, sections and details enabling a comprehensive 3D digital model of the tower to be developed.