A blog post from US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, David Huebner, titled, "American Search and Rescue Team Gifts Large Cache of High-Tech Equipment to Kiwi Counterparts".
Canterbury novelist Joanna Orwin has a new, futurist story of a New Zealand changed by cataclysmic volcanoes and tsunami, Sacrifice. And we hear about some of the stories in a post-earthquake Christchurch anthology, Tales for Canterbury.
A video of an interview with Andy Dodd, archaeologist at Underground Overground Archaeology, and Rewi Couch, representative for Te Hapu o Ngai Te Wheke, about the excavation of the site of the former Lyttelton Post Office on Norwich Quay. A Maori adze was found by the archaeologists deep beneath the concrete foundations of the building. The adze is a woodworking tool which indicates that early Maori settlers may have carved and launched waka on the site.
Roger Sutton, the chief executive of networks company Orion has taken up a five-year contract as the CEO of the Christchurch Earthquake Reconstruction Authority, the top bureaucrat in the post-quake city.
A photograph of a sign on a lamp post on Bealey Avenue. The sign reads, "Attention Public, there is a cordon in effect. From the timings of 0600 to 1800 only personal with legitimate reasons and home owners are permitted to enter the cordon. Home owners, please have proof of address and identification ready for inspection. At 1800 to 0600 the cordoned area is under curfew. The only personnel permitted to enter are: health professionals, Canterbury Council staff, contractors, media. No exceptions. If you have any questions, please approach police or NZDF personnel. Thank you for your co-operation".
The 11 frame cartoon strip tells a story about planning for a new Christchurch city post-earthquake. After filling the plan with every possible thing he can think of the planner puts the artist in an empty corner and the whole thing is delivered into a black hole that represents 'The real world'. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Arts Voice Chrischurch is planning to create a 'river of arts' as part of Christchurch's post-earthquake rebuild.
One portrait colour digital photograph taken on 25 February 2011 showing damage to the Old Post Office Building on the Corner of Norwich Quay and Oxford Street. Architect The archaeological investigation of the site of the old Lyttelton Post Office uncovered evidence of Maori settlement in the area including a midden, fire places and an adze. Th...
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 27 April 2011 showing damage to the Old Post Office Building on the corner of Norwich Quay and Oxford Street. The old Telegraph office located beside the Old Post Office and the Timeball Station are also visible. Architect As Lyttelton's first main street, Norwich Quay was the site of many early g...
An extensive research program is on-going at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand to develop new technologies to permit the construction of multi-storey timber buildings in earthquake prone areas. The system combines engineered timber beams, columns and walls with ductile moment resisting connections using post-tensioned tendons and eventually energy dissipaters. The extensive experimental testing on post-tensioned timber building systems has proved a remarkable lateral response of the proposed solutions. A wide number of post-tensioned timber subassemblies, including beam-column connections, single or coupled walls and column-foundation connections, have been analysed in static or quasi-static tests. This contribution presents the results of the first dynamic tests carried out with a shake-table. Model frame buildings (3-storey and 5-storey) on one-quarter scale were tested on the shake-table to quantify the response of post-tensioned timber frames during real-time earthquake loading. Equivalent viscous damping values were computed for post-tensioned timber frames in order to properly predict their response using numerical models. The dynamic tests were then complemented with quasi-static push and pull tests performed to a 3-storey post-tensioned timber frame. Numerical models were included to compare empirical estimations versus dynamic and quasi-static experimental results. Different techniques to model the dynamic behaviour of post-tensioned timber frames were explored. A sensitivity analysis of alternative damping models and an examination of the influence of designer choices for the post-tensioning force and utilization of column armouring were made. The design procedure for post-tensioned timber frames was summarized and it was applied to two examples. Inter-storey drift, base shear and overturning moments were compared between numerical modelling and predicted/targeted design values.
Hotel Grand Chancellor - Leaning 1m to the east, demolition will start about mid June and is expected to take 10 months to complete at a cost of approx NZ$10m. It will be the biggest & tallest demolition project in New Zealand. Taken during a scenic flight over Christchurch, New Zealand, 3 months after the deadly earthquake of 22 February, ...
Currently there is a worldwide renaissance in timber building design. At the University of Canterbury, new structural systems for commercial multistorey timber buildings have been under development since 2005. These systems incorporate large timber sections connected by high strength post-tensioning tendons, and timber-concrete composite floor systems, and aim to compete with existing structural systems in terms of cost, constructability, operational and seismic performance. The development of post-tensioned timber systems has created a need for improved lateral force design approaches for timber buildings. Current code provisions for seismic design are based on the strength of the structure, and do not adequately account for its deformation. Because timber buildings are often governed by deflection, rather than strength, this can lead to the exceedence of design displacement limitations imposed by New Zealand codes. Therefore, accurate modeling approaches which define both the strength and deformation of post-tensioned timber buildings are required. Furthermore, experimental testing is required to verify the accuracy of these models. This thesis focuses on the development and experimental verification of modeling approaches for the lateral force design of post-tensioned timber frame and wall buildings. The experimentation consisted of uni-direcitonal and bi-directional quasi-static earthquake simulation on a two-thirds scale, two-storey post-tensioned timber frame and wall building with timber-concrete composite floors. The building was subjected to lateral drifts of up to 3% and demonstrated excellent seismic performance, exhibiting little damage. The building was instrumented and analyzed, providing data for the calibration of analytical and numerical models. Analytical and numerical models were developed for frame, wall and floor systems that account for significant deformation components. The models predicted the strength of the structural systems for a given design performance level. The static responses predicted by the models were compared with both experimental data and finite element models to evaluate their accuracy. The frame, wall and floor models were then incorporated into an existing lateral force design procedure known as displacement-based design and used to design several frame and wall structural systems. Predictions of key engineering demand parameters, such as displacement, drift, interstorey shear, interstorey moment and floor accelerations, were compared with the results of dynamic time-history analysis. It was concluded that the numerical and analytical models, presented in this thesis, are a sound basis for determining the lateral response of post-tensioned timber buildings. However, future research is required to further verify and improve these prediction models.
Christchurch artist Phillip Trusttum and gallery owner Jonathan Smart on how visual artists are accepting what's been lost and looking to the future, post the earthquake.
More now from today's post cabinet news conference where the Prime Minister announced that a national memorial service to mark the Christchurch earthquake will be held in the city on Friday March the 18th.
Some children in Christchurch still have quite serious post-earthquake anxiety issues - we hear what to look for and why professional help might be a good idea.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Signs outside homes in Locksley Ave, Dallington after the Christchurch earthquake".
A sign on a fence in Palmers Street, written by resident Todd Roydon after his house was condemned.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. A helicopter lifts people off the rooftop of a building in the centre of Christchurch."
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Four families huddle together in a Redcliffs house that still has no power. Story Keith Christchurch Press."
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Emergency Co-ordination Centre in the Christchurch Art Gallery building. Staff at work with paintings in a gallery still on display".
Soft cover 57 page publication detailing the experience and rescue of Ann Bodkin from the Pyne Gould Corporation building following the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Account of her experiences of being trapped post 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. The toll of long hours spent on sites by volunteers and rescue crews are starting to be seen. This crew pictured at the cathedral."
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A piece of rock from the Sydenham Historic Church under his arm. The church was demolished on the corner of Colombo and Brougham Streets".
A man sits at his desk with an enormous sheet of blank paper headed 'New Christchurch' before him; peering over his shoulder is a huge figure who appears to be a man from an earlier era of the history of Christchurch. Context - Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 and the start of debate about how city should be rebuilt. The historic man suggests a strong pull to preserve historic Christchurch. Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
The M7.1 Darfield earthquake shook the town of Christchurch (New Zealand) in the early morning on Saturday 4th September 2010 and caused damage to a number of heritage unreinforced masonry buildings. No fatalities were reported directly linked to the earthquake, but the damage to important heritage buildings was the most extensive to have occurred since the 1931 Hawke‟s Bay earthquake. In general, the nature of damage was consistent with observations previously made on the seismic performance of unreinforced masonry buildings in large earthquakes, with aspects such as toppled chimneys and parapets, failure of gables and poorly secured face-loaded walls, and in-plane damage to masonry frames all being extensively documented. This report on the performance of the unreinforced masonry buildings in the 2010 Darfield earthquake provides details on typical building characteristics, a review of damage statistics obtained by interrogating the building assessment database that was compiled in association with post-earthquake building inspections, and a review of the characteristic failure modes that were observed.
A Christchurch man wants to let his home. He stands in a fissure in the garden and tells a man with a large dog who is interested in renting 'Sorry, no dogs! They dig too many holes!' Context: Post earthquake Christchurch tries to return to normal. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Post analysis of last night's All Black victory over the Wallabies and a look at the challenges ahead against Les Bleus; various looks at the Rena including mitigation of environmental impact and a 'please explain' summons to the lessees by the Transport Minister and; the Canterbury earthquake's Royal Commission hearings begin.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 27 April 2011 showing damage to the London Street Restaurant. Photograph taken looking west from the intersection of London Street with Oxford Street and Sumner Road. Adaptability and quick thinking has become a key part of business survival in post earthquake Canterbury. The owner of this bui...
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 14 July 2011 showing the demolition of the former Canterbury Hotel on the corner of Norwich Quay and Oxford Street. At the time of demolition the ground floor was occupied by the Magma Gallery. Also visible in the photograph are the Old Post Office, Lyttelton Takeaways (corrugated iron walls) and ...
Christchurch's CBD as seen from the Cashmere hills, south of the city. Much of the CBD is still cordoned off and without power (as you should be able to spot) as a result of the damage caused by February's deadly earthquake.