A photograph of construction near the site of the Crowne Plaza, corner of Kilmore, Durham and Victoria Streets.
A photograph of construction near the site of the Crowne Plaza, corner of Kilmore, Durham and Victoria Streets.
A photograph of construction near the site of the Crowne Plaza, corner of Kilmore, Durham and Victoria Streets.
The Canterbury earthquakes have generated economic demand and supply volatility, highlighting geographical and structural interdependencies. Post-earthquake reconstruction and new developments have seen skills training, relocation, recruitment and importation of skills becoming crucial for construction companies to meet demand and compete effectively. This report presents 15 case studies from a range of organisations involved in the Canterbury rebuild, exploring the business dynamics and outcomes of their resourcing initiatives. A key finding of this research is that, for many construction organisations, resourcing initiatives have become part of their organisational longer-term development strategies, rather than simply a response to ‘supply and demand’ pressures. Organisations are not relying on any single resourcing solution to drive their growth but use a combination of initiatives to create lasting business benefits, such as cost savings, improved brand and reputation, a stable and productive workforce, enhanced efficiency and staff morale, as well as improved skill levels.
Christchurch earthquake events have raised questions on the adequacy of performance-based provisions in the current national building code. At present, in the building code the performance objectives are expressed in terms of safety and health criteria that could affect building occupants. In general, under the high intensity Christchurch events, buildings performed well in terms of life-safety (with a few exceptions) and it proved that the design practices adopted for those buildings could meet the performance objectives set by the building code. However, the damage incurred in those buildings resulted in unacceptably high economic loss. It is timely and necessary to revisit the objectives towards building performance in the building code and to include provisions for reducing economic implications in addition to the current requirements. Based on the observed performance of some buildings, a few specific issues in the current design practices that could have contributed to extensive damage have been identified and recommended for further research leading towards improved performance of structures. In particular, efforts towards innovative design/construction solutions with low-damage concepts are encouraged. New Zealand has been one of the leading countries in developing many innovative technologies. However, such technically advanced research findings usually face challenges towards implementation. Some of the reasons include: (i) lack of policy requirements; (iii) absence of demonstrated performance of new innovations to convince stakeholders; and (iv) non-existence of design guidelines. Such barriers significantly affect implementation of low damage construction and possible strategies to overcome those issues are discussed in this paper.
Furniture made of recycled wood situated in an empty construction site. The furniture was part of the Gap Filler project.
Construction workers on the scaffolding which surrounds the Millennium Hotel. Fencing has been placed around the buildings to restrict access.
A new building under construction on Kilmore Street. A sign reading, 'Danger keep out' has been placed on the security fence.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's Blog for 16 November 2013 entitled, "Mother Mary".
In recent years, significant research has been undertaken into the development of lead-extrusion damping technology. The high force-to-volume (HF2V) devices developed at the University of Canterbury have been the subject of much of this research. However, while these devices have undergone a limited range of velocity testing, limitations in test equipment has meant that they have never been tested at representative earthquake velocities. Such testing is important as the peak resistive force provided by the dampers under large velocity spikes is an important design input that must be known for structural applications. This manuscript presents the high-speed testing of HF2V devices with quasi-static force capacities of 250-300kN. These devices have been subjected to peak input velocities of approximately 200mm/s, producing peak resistive forces of approximately 350kN. The devices show stable hysteretic performance, with slight force reduction during high-speed testing due to heat build-up and softening of the lead working material. This force reduction is recovered following cyclic loading as heat is dissipated and the lead hardens again. The devices are shown to be only weakly velocity dependent, an advantage in that they do not deliver large forces to the connecting elements and surrounding structure if larger than expected response velocities occur. This high-speed testing is an important step towards uptake as it provides important information to designers.
A temporary (5year) construction of giant cardboard tubes to be in use until the new or restored Christ Church Cathedral is back in the Square
With Andrew Cleland - Chief Executive of the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ. Dr Maan Alkaisi - Co-chair Christchurch Earthquake Families Group. Maurice Williamson - Minister for Building and Construction.
The C.F. Cotter & Co building on High Street. Security fencing has been placed around the building to restrict access. Weeds are growing on the vacant construction lot next to the building.
A photograph of a large frame being constructed in a car park in Re:START mall for Canterbury Tales. Canterbury Tales was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a large frame being constructed in a car park in Re:START mall for Canterbury Tales. Canterbury Tales was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a large cardboard platform wrapped in blue plastic and ropes, lying near the Avon River on Cambridge Terrace. The platform is part of Canterbury Tales, which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A digitally manipulated image of demolition machinery, with the Hotel So in the background. The photographer comments, "Strange things happen when you use technicolor film".
An example of the five year rebuild schedule map created as part of the prioritisation process detailing where and when construction would start. The data behind this map was updated every quarter.
A photograph looking west down Tuam Street. C1 Espresso can be seen on the right. On the left, construction hoarding and scaffolding surrounds the badly-damaged McKenzie & Willis building.
Page 3 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Tuesday 21 May 2013.
A empty site in Bexley where a house once stood. The foundations for the house can still be seen. A sign reading, 'Danger construction site' hangs on the security fence that surrounds the area.
Following the 2010/2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes, a detailed door-to-door survey was conducted in the Christchurch region to establish the earthquake performance of lightweight timber-framed residential dwellings with a masonry veneer external cladding system. The post-earthquake survey involved documenting the condition of dwellings in areas that had experienced different levels of earthquake shaking, allowing comparison between the performance of different veneer systems and different shaking intensities. In total, just fewer than 1,100 residential dwellings were inspected throughout the wider Christchurch area. The survey included parameters such as level of veneer damage, type of veneer damage, observed crack widths, and level of repair required. It is concluded that based on observed earthquake performance at the shaking intensities matching or exceeding ultimate limit state loading, the post-1996 veneer fixing details performed satisfactorily and continued use of the detail is recommended without further modification. AM - Accepted Manuscript
A PDF copy of pages 144-145 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'WikiHouse Prototype'. Photos with permission: Wikihouse through Creative Commons
On a walk around the neighbourhood, December 3, 2013, Christchurch New Zealand. www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/avenues/featu...
Knox Church earthquake repair/rebuild on a walk around Christchurch December 11, 2013 New Zealand. www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-20... All about our ear...
A photograph of a temporary installation titled Highlight under construction in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec Architecture Department for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a temporary installation titled Highlight under construction in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec Architecture Department for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a temporary installation titled Highlight under construction in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec Architecture Department for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a temporary installation titled Highlight under construction in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec Architecture Department for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a temporary installation titled Highlight under construction in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec Architecture Department for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.