[1] The company engaged architects Sidney and Alfred Luttrell with the design of their Christchurch head offices.

The upper five stories had external unreinforced brick columns that were load bearing, while the interior was made of steel framing.

According to the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, this was due to the load transfer from the reinforced concrete floor to the unreinforced brick columns, and was further caused by the two storey building adjoining on the south side stopping to provide lateral support at that height.

The council's CEO was given powers to issue a demolition warrant, which avoided the usual resource consent process that could take up to 18 months.

[8] Heritage enthusiasts and others protested against demolition, arguing that the masonry columns would have been reinforced with steel, and that the council should obtain its own engineering report, not rely on that commissioned by the building's owner.

The owner presented evidence of further damage in aftershocks and pressed for urgent demolition, saying he had been advised that the building was showing signs of impending failure.

[13][14] The building, significantly weakened by the removal of key structural supports by demolition engineers, withstood a number of large aftershocks without collapsing.