A photograph looking east down Worcester Street from the Christchurch Arts Centre. In the distance, the earthquake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral can be seen, with a crane in front.
As part of the ‘Project Masonry’ Recovery Project funded by the New Zealand Natural Hazards Research Platform, commencing in March 2011, an international team of researchers was deployed to document and interpret the observed earthquake damage to masonry buildings and to churches as a result of the 22nd February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The study focused on investigating commonly encountered failure patterns and collapse mechanisms. A brief summary of activities undertaken is presented, detailing the observations that were made on the performance of and the deficiencies that contributed to the damage to approximately 650 inspected unreinforced clay brick masonry (URM) buildings, to 90 unreinforced stone masonry buildings, to 342 reinforced concrete masonry (RCM) buildings, to 112 churches in the Canterbury region, and to just under 1100 residential dwellings having external masonry veneer cladding. Also, details are provided of retrofit techniques that were implemented within relevant Christchurch URM buildings prior to the 22nd February earthquake. In addition to presenting a summary of Project Masonry, the broader research activity at the University of Auckland pertaining to the seismic assessment and improvement of unreinforced masonry buildings is outlined. The purpose of this outline is to provide an overview and bibliography of published literature and to communicate on-going research activity that has not yet been reported in a complete form. http://sesoc.org.nz/conference/programme.pdf
Two men chat on a beach about what the new year will bring. Out at sea is the container ship 'Rena' in two halves and the rain pours down. Context: 2011 was a year of disasters in New Zealand with new earthquakes in Christchurch and the 'Rena' running aground on the Astrolabe Reef off the Tauranga coast. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows huge mosquitoes attacking a man. Context: It could be that there is a larger population of mosquitoes in Christchurch at the moment because of stagnant areas left by the earthquakes. And it could be that a new mosquito species may be causing Cantabrians to suffer bad reactions to bites. The species is known as the striped mosquito, or Aedes notscriptus. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Container Love: shipping container decorated with knitted and crocheted squares. Sumner, Christchurch. File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_026.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Latimer Hotel, Latimer Square, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-04-06-LatimerSquare-April-2012-DSC_0855.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Latimer Square, Christchurch. AMI Stadium is visible in the distance File reference: CCL-2012-04-06-LatimerSquare-April-2012-DSC_0901.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Latimer Hotel, Latimer Square, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-04-06-LatimerSquare-April-2012-DSC_0861.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Worcester Street, seen from Latimer Square, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-04-06-LatimerSquare-April-2012-DSC_0874.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Temporary eateries in Sumner, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_040.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Container Love: shipping container decorated with knitted and crocheted squares. Sumner, Christchurch. File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_031.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Sumner Library (currently closed), in Sumner, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_038.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Temporary eateries in Sumner, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_042.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Container Love: shipping container decorated with knitted and crocheted squares. Sumner, Christchurch. File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_028.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Container Love: shipping container decorated with knitted and crocheted squares. Sumner, Christchurch. File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_032.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Poseidon Restaurant (currently closed), Sumner, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_043.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Sumner Library (currently closed), in Sumner, Christchurch File reference: CCL-2012-05-12-Around-Sumner-May-2012 DSC_037.JPG From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes have provided a unique opportunity to investigate the seismic performance of both traditional and modern buildings constructed in New Zealand. It is critical that the observed performance is examined and compared against the expected levels of performance that are outlined by the Building Code and Design Standards. In particular, in recent years there has been a significant amount of research into the seismic behaviour of precast concrete floor systems and the robustness of the support connections as a building deforms during an earthquake. An investigation of precast concrete floor systems in Christchurch has been undertaken to assess both the performance of traditional and current design practice. The observed performance for each type of precast floor unit was collated from a number of post-earthquake recognisance activities and compared against the expected performance determined for previous experimental testing and analysis. Possible reasons for both the observed damage, and in some cases the lack of damage, were identified. This critical review of precast concrete floor systems will assist in determining the success of current design practice as well as identify any areas that require further research and/or changes to design standards.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
On October 23, 2010 Christchurch's Hagley Park hosted one of the biggest ever free concerts in New Zealand, following the first big earthquake to shake the city a month earlier.
A story submitted by Marjorie Weaver to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Julie to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Anonymous to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Lisa Bevan to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Adele Geradts to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Polly to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Shelley to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Paul Murray to the QuakeStories website.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 2 June 2012 entitled, "Waste Water Waiting".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 19 May 2012 entitled, "Cordon Cutback".