As they were there, a parent attempting to enter the school alerted several police officers on Colombo Street to the presence of the school and together entered the building to evacuate the school. The school then followed a predetermined plan to evacuate to Christchurch Botanic Gardens where parents would collect children. The small group of students on the unsupervised trust licence trip followed the same plan, eventually reuniting with the rest of the school. The Hallensteins Building (dubbed the "Northern Tower") had already suffered minor damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake but was safe to use through to February 2011. After the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building was said to be structurally safe, but was demolished in 2012 allegedly at the will of the owners. The Southern Star Building was severely damaged, losing some of its front facade, as well as having a partially collapsed ceiling on the second floor. The building was demolished by 2013. Unlimited also occupied a basement area below The Crossing food court building which housed music rooms, a dance floor, and a woodwork area. In 2012 as part of the UC Quakebox project, an Unlimited staff member who was present on the day of the earthquake recounted entering the basement to check if any students were trapped after power had been lost, to find the area was flooding from burst pipes and the floor had become unstable. The basement area was closed following the events, and buildings which were connected to this section of The Crossing were de-constructed and rebuilt upon in the following years. Before demolition work began on the Unlimited buildings, John Mather (then the school director) announced that the school Board of Trustees had decided the school would not return to the site. Mather announced the school would consider rebuilding in the city in the future. Mather would retire from the role before rebuild plans were established. Post-earthquake Staff at Unlimited were presented with a Christchurch Earthquake Award in 2012 (one of 140 awarded to individuals and organisations nominated by the public) for the evacuation of hundreds of students from the city location, which was surrounded by damaged buildings and rubble, including the damaged façade of the Southern Star building itself. Because the schools were situated in the central business district (in what became the "red zone", an area made inaccessible to the public during demolition works) and due to the importance