Blog by Mark Lincoln. Contains New Zealand news items and items of interest. One focus is the Christchurch earthquake and the rebuild.
See previous photo (exactly 3 hours earlier). Demolition of the support structure for NZ Breweries smokestack in Christchurch. CERES NZ's nibbler is at work, the pipe stack having been removed yesterday (Saturday). This is three hours after the previous photo, and just a pile of rubble sits beside the tree (largely undamaged despite being next...
Demolition of the support structure for NZ Breweries smokestack in Christchurch. CERES NZ's nibbler is at work, the pipe stack having been removed yesterday (Saturday). I retuned three hours later to see what progress had been made and it was GONE! See next photo. Damage to complex was from the 22/02/20011 earthquake.
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.
Shows a throng of sex workers rushing back following the announcement that 'Manchester Street's open!'. Prior to the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011 Manchester Street was the focus of street prostitution. On 13 April 2013 the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) announced: 'A temporary change to the cordon tonight sees Manchester Street open all the way through for the first time in over two years'. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows a hand lifting a house up from the ground, as the earth shakes and rumbles around it. A voice in the earth says, 'I'm still here'. Refers to ongoing earthquakes and aftershocks following the devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Canterbury. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Commentary from the cartoonist 'The Earthquake Commission's leak of 83,000 files is like a storyline from Alfred Hitchcock: : a loon attempts to shock a nation that has already been rendered braindead from previous shocks.Note: EQC is ued here as an 'echo' of the term ECT [electro convulsive therapy...ie shock treatment].' In March 2013, there was a massive leak of of some 83,000 EQC files relating to individual claims relating to the Christchurch earthquakes. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows the Mainzeal logo fractured and with an earthquake red sticker, with the comment 'Land seems ok... Not sure about the structure!'. Refers to the announcement on 6 February that Mainzeal, one of New Zealand's largest construction companies actively involved in the Christchurch, rebuild had been placed in receivership. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A transcript of Bruce Morriss's interview for the Church in the Quakes Project. The interview was conducted by Melissa Parsons on 9 November 2012. Morriss is the South Island Regional Manager for Tearfund NZ.
Shows a group of snails working on the rebuild of Christchurch. Refers to the slow pace of recovery after February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The New Zealand public contemplate a dead drought stricken landscape. As well as lack of water, there is a lack of moderate pay scales for CEOs, satisfaction with EQC, quality TV, generous insurance companies, brilliant Solid Energy management, the integrity of John Banks (and by implication that of other MPs), quality education ministers, worthwhile overseas trips by the Prime Minister, 'clever' NZ First MPs and a boost for the West Coast among others. Considered from a Canterbury perspective, the drought of early 2013 becomes a symbol for many of the recent political and social ailments afflicting the land. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
From a house truck labelled 'Dunrentin' the occupant claims that since the Feb 2012 earthquake this is the only accommodation that his family can afford. Since that earthquake, the reultant damage to housing had caused housing rentals to soar, beyond the reach of many of theose displaced. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A couple in a red-zoned dog kennel, completing the dwelling census. Their accommodation has one room;, their only heating is by body heat and burning furniture; their rent is $1000 per week. Two years after the earthquakes, the living conditions of many in the 'red zones' of Christchurch was poor, owing to local body, government and insurance companies' tardiness. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows a sick and damaged Christchurch Anglican Cathedral in a hospital bed with two attendants. The Cathedral asks 'Can ya just pull the plug and let me die peacefully?'. Context refers to recent comments by Bishop Victoria Matthews that the Christchurch Cathedral is 'being left to die with no dignity' because of ongoing legal battles about its future. There has been ongoing debate and controversy over whether the Cathedral should be demolished, reconstructed or restored following damage suffered in the February 2011 Earthquake. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A signpost pointing 'West' and 'East'. The sign pointing West is intact; that indicating East is broken and barely hanging on to the post. Refers to the condition of Christchurch City after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011; the western wealthier suburbs were less damaged than the poorer Eastern suburbs. Also, progress on repair and rehabilitation of eastern housing had been slow. The redesign of the city centre seemed to be a western suburb priority which ignored the poverty and misery of living conditions on the east. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A small house is shown on an enormous foundation block labelled 'Rate$'. The cartoonist's comment is 'Like for like for the house...Total dislike for the foundation!' In Christchurch there were prospects of large rises in householders' rate to help finance the Christchurch Rebuild project. In view of the damage to housing, rate increases may be badly disproportionate. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Depicts National MP Aaron Gilmore walking off carrying two suitcases. A row of Christchurch insurance men are calling for him to return and saying they have the right job for his talents. Refers to Gilmore's resignation after National Party censure following to his drunken bullying behaviour to a waiter in a Hanmer Springs restaurant (3 News 13 May 2013) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Orana Wildlife Park 'lodge' sleeps passengers from Christchurch airport with no accommodation and who would otherwise sleep at the terminal. The Park staff think that 'they get free accommodation and we have a new paying exhibit!' They have also put up a notice: 'Cheapskates - Do not feed'. Is this a solution to airport 'night kippers'? The shortage of accommodation in Christchurch due to earthquake damage led many air travellers to sleep overnight at the air terminal. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Passengers use the baggage carousel at the Christchurch Airport to sleep on as they are swept around. 'Such a unique concept... a revolving motel!' Shortage of accommodation in Christchurch, because of earthquake-damaged hotels and motels and workers coming in for the Rebuild, was a serious problem for travellers to Christchurch, leading many to sleep in the airport overnight. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The Earthquake Commission calls a householder and tells him the 'good news' that his house which was left by the earthquakes in 'such an angle you couldn't live in it' has been refloated by the recent heavy rain and is now level again. The 'bad news' is that the house was last seen floating in the sea off Sumner. In June 2013 heavy rains had caused flooding in Canterbury. Christchurch was affected especially in the liquefaction prone areas, where the ground had sunk because of the earthquakes. Colour and black and white versions available Other Titles - Evans, Malcolm Paul, 1945-:"Established in a conservation estate...likely to harm our unique flora and fauna..." 31 May 2013 Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
An exceedingly large 'Gerry' Brownlee, the Minister for Earthquake Recovery, rises from a chair, holding a briefcase labeled 'CERA' and calling for 'Bob' Parker, the mayor of Christchurch. The thin Parker was flattened against Brownlee's enormous rear, when Brownlee sat on the chair. Brownlee and Parker had a strained relationship, with the government taking an increasing amount of control in local decision making. After ongoing assurances by Parker that Christchurch City Council would meet all of International Accreditation New Zealand's requirements on issuing building consents, Brownlee announced in June 2013 without Parker's prior knowledge that the authority had withdrawn its accreditation. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Roger Sutton, former chief executive of the the power lines company, Orion and since June 2011 Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury Earhquake Recovery Authority, is shown in a straitjacket, raving. An unseen interviewer asks him how it feels after 'two years in the job'. Roger Sutton's work in leading the Earthquake Authority after the February earthquake was extremely stressful, considering the magnitude of the task. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A public talk by Tim Grafton, CEO at the NZ Insurance Council. This talk formed part of the Panel Discussion session, 'Is delay, deny an urban myth?'. The Panel Discussion was chaired by Brendon Burns, Director at Macro Communications.
A PDF copy of pages 316-317 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Art Beat'. Photos of stage and graffiti works fledge.co.nz. Photos of building and loss adjusters courtesy of the social.
With Adrian Regnault, the General Manager of Building Systems Performance at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; Stefano Pampanin, an Associate Professor in Structural Engineering at Canterbury University and the President of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering and John Finnegan - structural engineer, Aurecon.
rubble from earthquake at Papanui Corner
Provincial towns and rural communities around the country say they will be financially ruined under proposals to strengthen buildings following the Christchurch earthquakes. Dale Williams is Mayor of Otorohanga, Dave Cull is Mayor of Dunedin and Lawrence Yule is Mayor of Hastings and president of Local Government NZ.
Deconstruction, at the end of the useful life of a building, produces a considerable amount of materials which must be disposed of, or be recycled / reused. At present, in New Zealand, most timber construction and demolition (C&D) material, particularly treated timber, is simply waste and is placed in landfills. For both technical and economic reasons (and despite the increasing cost of landfills), this position is unlikely to change in the next 10 – 15 years unless legislation dictates otherwise. Careful deconstruction, as opposed to demolition, can provide some timber materials which can be immediately re-used (eg. doors and windows), or further processed into other components (eg. beams or walls) or recycled (‘cascaded’) into other timber or composite products (e.g. fibre-board). This reusing / recycling of materials is being driven slowly in NZ by legislation, the ‘greening’ of the construction industry and public pressure. However, the recovery of useful material can be expensive and uneconomic (as opposed to land-filling). In NZ, there are few facilities which are able to sort and separate timber materials from other waste, although the soon-to-be commissioned Burwood Resource Recovery Park in Christchurch will attempt to deal with significant quantities of demolition waste from the recent earthquakes. The success (or otherwise) of this operation should provide good information as to how future C&D waste will be managed in NZ. In NZ, there are only a few, small scale facilities which are able to burn waste wood for energy recovery (e.g. timber mills), and none are known to be able to handle large quantities of treated timber. Such facilities, with constantly improving technology, are being commissioned in Europe (often with Government subsidies) and this indicates that similar bio-energy (co)generation will be established in NZ in the future. However, at present, the NZ Government provides little assistance to the bio-energy industry and the emergence worldwide of shale-gas reserves is likely to push the economic viability of bio-energy further into the future. The behaviour of timber materials placed in landfills is complex and poorly understood. Degrading timber in landfills has the potential to generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which can escape to the atmosphere and cancel out the significant benefits of carbon sequestration during tree growth. Improving security of landfills and more effective and efficient collection and utilisation of methane from landfills in NZ will significantly reduce the potential for leakage of methane to the atmosphere, acting as an offset to the continuing use of underground fossil fuels. Life cycle assessment (LCA), an increasingly important methodology for quantifying the environmental impacts of building materials (particularly energy, and global warming potential (GWP)), will soon be incorporated into the NZ Green Building Council Greenstar rating tools. Such LCA studies must provide a level playing field for all building materials and consider the whole life cycle. Whilst the end-of-life treatment of timber by LCA may establish a present-day base scenario, any analysis must also present a realistic end-of-life scenario for the future deconstruction of any 6 new building, as any building built today will be deconstructed many years in the future, when very different technologies will be available to deal with construction waste. At present, LCA practitioners in NZ and Australia place much value on a single research document on the degradation of timber in landfills (Ximenes et al., 2008). This leads to an end-of-life base scenario for timber which many in the industry consider to be an overestimation of the potential negative effects of methane generation. In Europe, the base scenario for wood disposal is cascading timber products and then burning for energy recovery, which normally significantly reduces any negative effects of the end-of-life for timber. LCA studies in NZ should always provide a sensitivity analysis for the end-of-life of timber and strongly and confidently argue that alternative future scenarios are realistic disposal options for buildings deconstructed in the future. Data-sets for environmental impacts (such as GWP) of building materials in NZ are limited and based on few research studies. The compilation of comprehensive data-sets with country-specific information for all building materials is considered a priority, preferably accounting for end-of-life options. The NZ timber industry should continue to ‘champion’ the environmental credentials of timber, over and above those of the other major building materials (concrete and steel). End-of-life should not be considered the ‘Achilles heel’ of the timber story.
The latest news and updates on last night's earthquake; a former resident of a Christchurch complex, where a woman was found dead over the weekend, says altercations are common; NZ says law change on asylum seekers justified; doubts Kiwisaver tweaks would help first home buyers; and veterans want answers about exposure to radiation.
A PDF copy of pages 130-131 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'CityView AR'. Photo with permission: HITLABNZ