
The earthquake swarm that has struck Canterbury, New Zealand from September 2010 has led to widespread destruction and loss of life in the city of Christchurch. In response to this the New Zealand government convened a Royal Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908. The terms of reference for this enquiry were wide ranging, and included inquiry into legal and best-practice requirements for earthquake-prone buildings and associated risk management strategies. The Commission produced a final report on earthquake-prone buildings and recommendations which was made public on the 7th December 2012. Also on the 7th of December 2012 the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) released a Consultation Document that includes many of the recommendations put forward by the Royal Commission. This paper examines the evidence presented to the Royal Commission and reviews their recommendations and those of MBIE in relation to the management of earthquake-prone buildings. An analysis of the likely impacts of the recommendations and proposals on both the property market and society in general is also undertaken.
A digital copy of a painting by Julia Holden. The painting is of building rubble and an excavator. In the background is the Forsyth Barr building.
Slides from a presentation by Dr Bernard Walker at UC CEISMIC's Contestable Fund mini-conference. The presentation was titled, "Building Organisational Resilience: the role of HRM in post-disaster recovery".
A presentation by Dr Bernard Walker and Rosemary Baird at UC CEISMIC's Contestable Fund mini-conference. The presentation was titled, "Building Organisational Resilience: the role of HRM in post-disaster recovery".
A photograph of the remains of buildings on Manchester Street. On the left, the remaining facade of the Excelsior Hotel building is being supported by a stack of coloured shipping containers.
A photograph of the remains of buildings on Manchester Street. On the left, the remaining facade of the Excelsior Hotel building is being supported by a stack of coloured shipping containers.
A photograph of damaged buildings on Manchester Street, taken from the intersection of High Street. On the left, stacked shipping containers are holding up the remaining facade of the Excelsior Hotel building.
A photograph of the back of badly-damaged buildings on High Street, taken from St Asaph Street. The old Post Office building can be seen in the distance.
A "drummer boy" dummy dressed in a hi-vis jacket sits on top of one of a building on High Street. Written on the back of the building is "Merry Christmas Christchurch Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum".
A digital copy of a painting by Julia Holden. The painting is of building rubble on an empty building site on the corner of Gloucester and Colombo Streets.
A photograph of the back of badly-damaged buildings on High Street, taken from St Asaph Street. The old Post Office building can be seen in the distance.
Transcript of Pete Cosgrove's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
A PDF copy of The Star newspaper, published on Wednesday 4 December 2013.
Page 7 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Saturday 30 March 2013.
Page 3 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Tuesday 21 May 2013.
Unreinforced masonry (URM) is a construction type that was commonly adopted in New Zealand between the 1880s and 1930s. URM construction is evidently vulnerable to high magnitude earthquakes, with the most recent New Zealand example being the 22 February 2011 Mw6.3 Christchurch earthquake. This earthquake caused significant damage to a majority of URM buildings in the Canterbury area and resulted in 185 fatalities. Many URM buildings still exist in various parts of New Zealand today, and due to their likely poor seismic performance, earthquake assessment and retrofit of the remaining URM building stock is necessary as these buildings have significant architectural heritage and occupy a significant proportion of the nation’s building stock. A collaborative research programme between the University of Auckland and Reid Construction Systems was conducted to investigate an economical yet effective solution for retrofitting New Zealand’s existing URM building stock. This solution adopts the shotcrete technique using an Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC), which is a polyvinyl alcohol fibre reinforced mortar that exhibits strain hardening characteristics. Collaborations have been formed with a number of consulting structural engineers throughout New Zealand to develop innovative and cost effective retrofit solutions for a number of buildings. Two such case studies are presented in this paper. http://www.concrete2013.com.au/technical-program/
A video of an interview with Mayor Bob Parker about the building consent crisis at the Christchurch City Council. The council received a letter from International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) on 30 May 2013. The letter says that the Council has until 28 June 2013 to improve its processes or it will be stripped of its accreditation as a building consent authority.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
A view from Cambridge Terrace of the damaged Our City O-Tautahi building, formerly the Municipal Chambers. Scaffolding and steel bracing has been placed along the front of the building.
An aerial photograph looking south over the Arts Centre on Worcester Boulevard. Scaffolding and cranes can be seen around the building which is having extensive repairs done to it after the earthquakes.
A photograph of a cleared site between St Asaph Street and Tuam Street. The old Post Office building can be seen in the distance to the left and on the right are badly-damaged High Street buildings.
A security fence stands behind fallen rubble and the charred remains of the McKenzie & Willis building on High Street. A portable toilet has been placed on the road next to a steel beam which is supporting the building.
A photograph of the back of badly-damaged buildings on High Street, taken from behind a fence on St Asaph Street. The old Post Office building can be seen in the distance.
A photograph of a cleared building site between Hereford Street and Cashel Street. Part of the site has been fenced off and an excavator can be seen behind a partially-demolished brick building.
A photograph of holes in the ground on Colombo Street, left by the foundations of a demolished building. A remaining wall of the building previously housing Sergio's Menswear is still standing on the left.
A photograph of a cleared building site between Hereford Street and Cashel Street. Part of the site has been fenced off and an excavator can be seen behind a partially-demolished brick building.
A view down High Street, looking north-west from the Tuam Street intersection. On the left a line of shipping containers support the facade of a damaged building. Rubble from demolished buildings can be seen in the distance.
A photograph of a cleared site between St Asaph Street and Tuam Street. The old Post Office building can be seen in the distance to the left and on the right are badly-damaged High Street buildings.