Page 5 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Thursday 18 April 2013.
The Christchurch City Council has received a strong warning from the Earthquake Recovery Minister to speed up its processing of building consents or lose its power to authorise consents.
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 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 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.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
Heritage buildings on Hereford Street, still standing.
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 "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".
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.
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 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.
The earthquake re-pair work has started on the Knox Church on Bealey Avenue, August 14, 2013 Christchurch New Zealand. While building after building is torn down in Christchurch, plans are in place to ensure as much of a 131-year-old church is retained as possible. Knox Church on Bealey Avenue suffered major damage in the February 22 earthquak...
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.
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation, 'Comin' Down', is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation, 'Comin' Down', is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of a damaged brick building on High Street. In the background, Ronnie Van Hout's installation 'Comin' Down' is visible on the roof of the Alice in Videoland building.
A photograph of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.
Broken windows on a building on Hereford Street.
Two excavators demolish a building on Hereford Street.
Scaffolding supporting the McKenzie and Willis building.