The connections between walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and flexible timber diaphragms are critical building components that must perform adequately before desirable earthquake response of URM buildings may be achieved. Field observations made during the initial reconnaissance and the subsequent damage surveys of clay brick URM buildings following the 2010/2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes revealed numerous cases where anchor connections joining masonry walls or parapets with roof or floor diaphragms appeared to have failed prematurely. These observations were more frequent for the case of adhesive anchor connections than for the case of through-bolt connections (i.e. anchorages having plates on the exterior façade of the masonry walls). Subsequently, an in-field test program was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the performance of adhesive anchor connections between unreinforced clay brick URM walls and roof or floor diaphragm. The study consisted of a total of almost 400 anchor tests conducted in eleven existing URM buildings located in Christchurch, Whanganui and Auckland. Specific objectives of the study included the identification of failure modes of adhesive anchors in existing URM walls and the influence of the following variables on anchor load-displacement response: adhesive type, strength of the masonry materials (brick and mortar), anchor embedment depth, anchor rod diameter, overburden level, anchor rod type, quality of installation and the use of metal foil sleeve. In addition, the comparative performance of bent anchors (installed at an angle of minimum 22.5o to the perpendicular projection from the wall surface) and anchors positioned horizontally was investigated. Observations on the performance of wall-to-diaphragm connections in the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes and a snapshot of the performed experimental program and the test results are presented herein. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/21050
The Forsyth Barr building stands alone, the buildings around it demolished. The photographer comments, "High-rise buildings look totally out of proportion when there's nothing around them to give them context. The jutting out part of this one makes it look unbalanced".
A pdf copy of a post from the One Voice Te Reo Kotahi blog. The post is titled, "We just sent out an email to NGOs on our register".
Two surveyors carry out work on Colombo Street.
Repairs are being carried out on the Avondale Road bridge.
Weeds grow out of the footpath on Cashel Street. Looking west through the cordon fence.
A photograph looking out of the window of Underground Cafe on Tuam Street.
Fabric woven into the fence of St Paul's Trinity Pacific Church spells out "Faith Hope Love".
A photograph looking out of the window of Underground Cafe on Tuam Street.
Caleb Middendorf tries out the penny farthing bicycle in one of the reopened galleries of the Canterbury Museum.
Tape woven into the mesh of the cordon fence on Madras Street spells out "Hapori".
Seen through the cordon fence, a wine bottle still sits on a table in the emptied-out Scorpio Books.
Tap Dance', a Gap Golf course built by Gap Filler out of wooden planks and green felt.
A document which contains a set of procedures for the "best practice" mark out and recording of subsurface utilities.
A road worker holds a stop sign on Gladstone Quay in Lyttelton. Road work vehicles carry out work on the road.
The Escargot', a mini golf course built by Gap Filler. It has been made out of green felt and rubber piping.
The Escargot', a mini golf course built by Gap Filler. It has been made out of green felt and rubber piping.
The Escargot', a mini golf course built by Gap Filler. It has been made out of green felt and rubber piping.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Digging out the basement of the ANZ building in Cathedral Square".
A planter on Hereford Street, made out of a painted truck tyre. A sign on the planter shows the Rotary International logo, and the words "Colour me Christchurch".
A mini golf course on a the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of stones and green felt.
A mini golf course on a the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of stones and green felt.
A new building under construction on Kilmore Street. A sign reading, 'Danger keep out' has been placed on the security fence.
Bob Charles', a Gap Golf course on a the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of bricks and green felt.
A photograph of a FESTA volunteer wearing a mask and holding a stack of FESTA programmes to hand out to visitors.
Bob Charles', a Gap Golf course on a the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of bricks and green felt.
A design guideline which provides guidance to designers on how to carry out a whole of life evaluation of rebuild options.
In-Spiired Challenge', a Gap Golf course on a the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of wooden planks and green felt.
Manee St Pinball', a Gap Golf course on the site of a demolished building. It has been built by Gap Filler out of wooden planks and green felt.
A photograph of a protest sign reading, "AMI lacking integrity? AMI misleading you? AMI stressing you out? AMI delaying you?". The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Woodham Road, Linwood".