Search

found 1009 results

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

Aotearoa has undoubtedly some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, a privilege for its inhabitants. However, as our cities have developed post-colonisation, the connection between the natural environment and its occupants has diminished. Designers play a vital role within an ever evolving world to progress the built environment in a way that reflects and restores vital values that have been deprioritised. Future practice should prioritise diversity, care for the land, enhancement of community space, and sustainable practices. This research sets out to demonstrate that new design methodologies can encourage kaitiakitanga, whilst meeting the needs of urban public space. Initially through critical analysis and literature based research, a study of Ōtautahi Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city, was undertaken. The principles of a ‘15 minute city’ were also explored and applied to the city, establishing issues within the built environment that drove the overall research direction. Through the tools of critical reflection and a research through design methodology, a design toolkit was constructed. This toolkit sets out to provide designers with a simple streamlined method of developing urban interventions that are sustainable and beneficial for human well-being. The toolkit incorporates an abstraction of the ‘15 minute city’ ideology and introduces the concepts of evolving green transportation routes within cities. Ōtautahi Christchurch, a city with a significant history of earthquake-caused damage, was chosen as the primary site for the application of this research’s proposed toolkit. The city becomes a canvas for an urban rebuild that explores and aims to set a precedent for a progressive 21st-century city. A key finding as the toolkit research developed was the idea of a ‘temporary’ phase or intervention, being added to traditional design methodologies prior to permanent building. The research explains how this temporary phase could more actively engage diverse user groups and create active conversations between communities and designers. The refined toolkit sets outs proposed timeline phases, methods of site analysis and development of design drivers. Alongside this, a modular architectural system establishes a design proposal for the temporary phase of an individual site within an evolving green route. This outcome provides further opportunity for realistic testing, which would actively involve communities and aims to shift our priorities within urban development. The introduction of the ‘temporary’ phase is beneficial in mitigating psychological implications on people and limiting physical impacts on the landscape. The final design stage of the thesis applied the toolkit process to three sites in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Through a holistic lens, the toolkit framework set out methods to collate information that provides guidance for development on the sites. While some layers are initiated simply by recognising site characteristics, others are informed through software such as GIS. Connected by a proposed green transport route, the three initial sites are developed with temporary interventions that utilise the modular design set out previously in the research. Contextualising the interventions on real world sites tested the flexibility of the system and allowed for critical reflection on the applicability of the toolkit to Aotearoa. The research concludes by identifying future research opportunities and speculates on possible applications of its findings within the real world. Temporary Permanence highlights the significant role that we, as designers, have in shifting urban priorities to create more holistic, sustainable, and inclusive cities for people and the planet.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Existing New Zealand (NZ) building stock contains a significant number of structures designed prior to 1995 with non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) columns. Recent earthquakes and research show that columns with such details perform poorly when subjected to seismic demand, losing gravity load carrying capacity at drift levels lower than the expected one. Therefore, in order to have a better understanding of existing RC columns in NZ, the history of these elements is investigated in this paper. The evolution of RC column design guidelines in NZ standards since the 1970s is scrutinized. For this purpose, a number of RC columns from Christchurch buildings built prior to 1995 are assessed using the current code of practice.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Observations of out-of-plane (OOP) instability in the 2010 Chile earthquake and in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake resulted in concerns about the current design provisions of structural walls. This mode of failure was previously observed in the experimental response of some wall specimens subjected to in-plane loading. Therefore, the postulations proposed for prediction of the limit states corresponding to OOP instability of rectangular walls are generally based on stability analysis under in-plane loading only. These approaches address stability of a cracked wall section when subjected to compression, thereby considering the level of residual strain developed in the reinforcement as the parameter that prevents timely crack closure of the wall section and induces stability failure. The New Zealand code requirements addressing the OOP instability of structural walls are based on the assumptions used in the literature and the analytical methods proposed for mathematical determination of the critical strain values. In this study, a parametric study is conducted using a numerical model capable of simulating OOP instability of rectangular walls to evaluate sensitivity of the OOP response of rectangular walls to variation of different parameters identified to be governing this failure mechanism. The effects of wall slenderness (unsupported height-to-thickness) ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio of the boundary regions and length on the OOP response of walls are evaluated. A clear trend was observed regarding the influence of these parameters on the initiation of OOP displacement, based on which simple equations are proposed for prediction of OOP instability in rectangular walls.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The performance of buildings in recent New Zealand earthquakes (Canterbury, Seddon and Kaikōura), delivered stark lessons on seismic resilience. Most of our buildings, with a few notable exceptions, performed as our Codes intended them to, that is, to safeguard people from injury. Many buildings only suffered minor structural damage but were unable to be reused and occupied for significant periods of time due to the damage and failure of non-structural elements. This resulted in substantial economic losses and major disruptions to our businesses and communities. Research has attributed the damage to poor overall design coordination, inadequate or lack of seismic restraints for non structural elements and insufficient clearances between building components to cater for the interaction of non structural elements under seismic actions. Investigations have found a clear connection between the poor performance of non-structural elements and the issues causing pain in the industry (procurement methods, risk aversion, the lack of clear understanding of design and inspection responsibility and the need for better alignment of the design codes to enable a consistent integrated design approach). The challenge to improve the seismic performance of non structural elements in New Zealand is a complex one that cuts across a diverse construction industry. Adopting the key steps as recommended in this paper is expected to have significant co-benefits to the New Zealand construction industry, with improvements in productivity alongside reductions in costs and waste, as the rework which plagues the industry decreases.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damaged buildings along London Street. Wire fencing has been used to keep people away. From the left are the Volcano Cafe, the Lava Bar, a fish and chip shop, and the Coastal Living Design Store. Rubble from the side of the Volcano Cafe can be seen along the Canterbury Street footpath.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Andrew Just from F3 Design (left), Jessica Halliday, Director of FESTA, and Martin Trusttum, CPIT Faculty of Creative Arts, on the corner of St Asaph Street and Madras Street where the temporary ArtBox gallery is to be constructed. The photograph was taken during a public talk about the temporary studio and gallery space. The event was part of FESTA 2012.

Articles, UC QuakeStudies

A PDF copy of a sign design from All Right?'s 'Take a Breather' campaign. The design features a plethora of everyday images, including traffic, roadworks, work and leisure activities. Images from phase 2 of the All Right? campaign and Christmas-themed images are also included. In the centre are the words, "Take a breather... Canterbury's a busy place. What could you do to recharge?".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of people looking at an installation of tarpaulin flags strung across the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of an installation of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of people standing among flags that have been strung across Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of people walking past strings of blue tarpaulin flags on the Worcester Street bridge. The installation, titled Eye of the Storm/em>, was created for Canterbury Tales by students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.