The paper presents preliminary findings from comprehensive research studies on the liquefaction-induced damage to buildings and infrastructure in Christchurch during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes. It identifies key factors and mechanisms of damage to road bridges, shallow foundations of CBD buildings and buried pipelines, and highlights the implications of the findings for the seismic analysis and design of these structures.
Abstract This study provides a simplified methodology for pre-event data collection to support a faster and more accurate seismic loss estimation. Existing pre-event data collection frameworks are reviewed. Data gathered after the Canterbury earthquake sequences are analysed to evaluate the relative importance of different sources of building damage. Conclusions drawns are used to explore new approaches to conduct pre-event building assessment.
A photograph of the rubble of the Observatory tower in the South Quad of the Christchurch Arts Centre. The tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake. A digger was used to clear the rubble away from the building. Scaffolding constructed around the tower has also collapsed and is amongst the rubble. In the background is a shipping container. A red sticker has been placed on the door to the Physics Building.
A photograph of members of the Clandeboye Emergency Response Team and the Red Cross Team working on High Street near the intersection with Manchester Street. In the background is a large pile of rubble from the ANZ Bank building. In the foreground the members have placed their bags on a group of outdoor chairs and tables still on the footpath.
A photograph of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team posing for a photograph on Lichfield Street. In the background is the earthquake-damaged John Burns & Co. Ltd Building. The top storey of the side wall of the building has collapsed and the rubble has spilled into the car park below. Several cars which were crushed by the falling rubble have been stacked next to the building.
A video about the demolition of buildings on Victoria Street. The video includes footage of an excavator demolishing the Daily Bagel building, and an interview with Paddy Snowden from City Salvage about his work after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. It also includes an interview with Api Agsorn-Worn, owner of Victoria Thai Foods on Victoria Street, about the status of her building which she acquired six months ago.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to The Volcano Café on London Street. The brick wall on the left side of the building has crumbled, and the bricks have spilt onto the footpath. A red sticker on the door indicates that the building is no longer safe to enter. Plywood has been used to board up the windows and wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Our City O-Tautahi Building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace. Steel bracing has been placed against the building to secure the brick walls. The bracing is supported by large concrete blocks. Wire fences have also been placed around the bottom of the building as a cordon. Scaffolding has been erected around the tower to the right.
A scanned copy of a black and white photograph belonging to University of Canterbury alumnus Colin Lau. Colin describes the photograph as follows: "A view from UCSA towards the (right side of our) Science Building. I am not sure what that target white building behind the lamp standard is. I still remember that little wooden bridge we walked across to the UCSA building & that meandering creek or stream that flows beneath it".
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Carlton Hotel on the corner of Papanui Road and Bealey Avenue. The wall of the top storey of the building has crumbled, and bricks have fallen onto the footpath. Wire fencing, road cones, and cordon tape have been placed around the building as a cordon. Scaffolding and steel bracing can be seen against the front of the building.
An aerial photograph of Hereford Street and Cathedral Square. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Hereford Street running across the foreground of this photograph, with Cathedral Square above. The IBIS Hotel and the ANZ Bank are staying, while the BNZ is currently being soft-stripped. Christ Church Cathedral officially has a status of 'partial demolish'".
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 19 November 2011 showing the temporary premises of Lyttelton Sea Foods in a relocatable building on Norwich Quay. The building is located on the site of the Lyttelton Hotel. Also visible in the photograph are (left to right) the side of Shadbolt House, the rear of the Pacifica Building which was t...
Page 1 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Monday 31 March 2014.
The base of the tower on the right of this picture has sunk about 25cm so that the lower course of bricks have disappeared below ground level. Meanwhile the other end of the building has sunk about 50cm splitting the building into thirds. The sand you can see is what came bubbling up out of the ground due to liquifaction. Unfortunately the build...
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation, 'Comin' Down', is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation, 'Comin' Down', is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation 'Comin' Down' is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of an advertisement for McCormick Reapers & Binders on the side of a building on Lichfield Street. The advertisement was exposed when the building next door was demolished.
Light timber framed (LTF) structures provide a cost-effective and structurally efficient solution for low-rise residential buildings. This paper studies seismic performance of single-storey LTF buildings sheathed by gypsum-plasterboards (GPBs) that are a typical lining product in New Zealand houses. Compared with wood-based structural panels, GPBs tend to be more susceptible to damage when they are used in bracing walls to resist earthquake loads. This study aims to provide insights on how the bracing wall irregularity allowed by the current New Zealand standard NZS 3604 and the in-plane rigidity of ceiling diaphragms affect the overall seismic performance of these GPB-braced LTF buildings. Nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted on a series of single-storey baseline buildings with different levels of bracing wall irregularities and ceiling diaphragm rigidity. The results showed significant torsional effect caused by the eccentric bracing wall layout with semi-rigid/rigid ceiling diaphragms. On average, bracing wall drift demand caused by the extreme bracing wall irregularities was three times of that in the regular bracing wall layout under the rigid diaphragm assumption. This finding agreed well with the house survey after the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake in which significantly more damage was observed in the houses with irregular bracing wall layouts and relatively rigid diaphragms. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the level of bracing wall eccentricity and ensure the sufficiently rigid diaphragms to avoid excessive damage in these LTF buildings in future events.
As part of a seismic retrofit scheme, surface bonded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) fabric was applied to two unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings located in Christchurch, New Zealand. The unreinforced stone masonry of Christchurch Girls’ High School (GHS) and the unreinforced clay brick masonry Shirley Community Centre were retrofitted using surface bonded GFRP in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Much of the knowledge on the seismic performance of GFRP retrofitted URM was previously assimilated from laboratory-based experimental studies with controlled environments and loading schemes. The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence provided a rare opportunity to evaluate the GFRP retrofit applied to two vintage URM buildings and to document its performance when subjected to actual design-level earthquake-induced shaking. Both GFRP retrofits were found to be successful in preserving architectural features within the buildings as well as maintaining the structural integrity of the URM walls. Successful seismic performance was based on comparisons made between the GFRP retrofitted GHS building and the adjacent nonretrofitted Boys’ High School building, as well as on a comparison between the GFRP retrofitted and nonretrofitted walls of the Shirley Community Centre building. Based on detailed postearthquake observations and investigations, the GFRP retrofitted URM walls in the subject buildings exhibited negligible to minor levels of damage without delamination, whereas significant damage was observed in comparable nonretrofitted URM walls. AM - Accepted Manuscript
Territorial authorities in New Zealand are responding to regulatory and market forces in the wake of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake to assess and retrofit buildings determined to be particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. Pending legislation may shorten the permissible timeframes on such seismic improvement programmes, but Auckland Council’s Property Department is already engaging in a proactive effort to assess its portfolio of approximately 3500 buildings, prioritise these assets for retrofit, and forecast construction costs for improvements. Within the programme structure, the following varied and often competing factors must be accommodated: * The council’s legal, fiscal, and ethical obligations to the people of Auckland per building regulations, health and safety protocols, and economic growth and urban development planning strategies; * The council’s functional priorities for service delivery; * Varied and numerous stakeholders across the largest territorial region in New Zealand in both population and landmass; * Heritage preservation and community and cultural values; and * Auckland’s prominent economic role in New Zealand’s economy which requires Auckland’s continued economic production post-disaster. Identifying those buildings most at risk to an earthquake in such a large and varied portfolio has warranted a rapid field assessment programme supplemented by strategically chosen detailed assessments. Furthermore, Auckland Council will benefit greatly in time and resources by choosing retrofit solutions, techniques, and technologies applicable to a large number of buildings with similar configurations and materials. From a research perspective, the number and variety of buildings within the council’s property portfolio will provide valuable data for risk modellers on building typologies in Auckland, which are expected to be fairly representative of the New Zealand building stock as a whole.
Plant beds made out of corrugated iron, greening the empty building sites along Colombo Street. These were placed here by Greening the Rubble, a community project in Christchurch to create temporary public parks and gardens on the sites of demolished buildings.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The McKenzie & Willis building on Tuam Street. The building next door to it has suffered more damage from the 23 December 2011 earthquake".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Latimer Square and Radio Networks House (under demolition). IRD building top left and Pacific Tower centre right".
A photograph looking north down Manchester Street, taken from the intersection of Gloucester Street. In the distance, the road has been cordoned off. The Christchurch City Council car parking building can be seen on the right.
The damaged Provincial Council Legislative Chamber on Durham Street in the aftermath of the 22 February earthquake. The building's roof and walls have collapsed, as has the scaffolding which was erected to repair it after the 4 September earthquake.
The Windsor Hotel, on the corner of Montreal Street and Armagh Street. The building was red-stickered after the September 2010 earthquake and demolished after the February 2011 earthquake. Beside the hotel, construction has begun on a modern, tilt-slab building.
A red double-decker tour bus sits outside the former Registry building of the Christchurch Arts Centre. A broken window has been boarded up and security fencing has been placed around the building. A sign pointing towards the Christchurch Art Gallery is attached to the fence.
A digital copy of a painting by Julia Holden. The painting is of building rubble and machinery. Gloucester Arcade and the badly-damaged Farmers building are in the background to the right.
A photograph of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Building, the Copthorne Hotel, and the Forsyth Barr Building taken from the corner of Kilmore and Colombo Streets. In the background, a crane is hanging over the city.