Poorly restrained or unrestrained building services can cause havoc during earthquakes, leaving buildings unusable afterwards. Prevent this by following the guidance on properly restraining building services.
In its latest Building Code update, MBIE published amendments to the compliance paths for clause G12 Water supplies. Among the changes, Acceptable Solution G12/AS1 was updated to clarify the requirements for the seismic restraint of storage water heaters.
After the Canterbury earthquakes, regulations governing foundations changed. Initially only for the Canterbury region, they were later rolled out around New Zealand. What are the changes and what do they mean?
In Build 201, we reported on collaborative international research (dubbed ROBUST) under way at state-of-the-art facilities in China to test the seismic performance of sliding or friction connections in a building.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s built environment is under pressure to respond to modern needs and societal expectations, says Paul Campbell, National Technical Leader – Building Structures, WSP.
A code of practice for the seismic performance of non-structural elements is being developed to help deliver buildings that better stand up to earthquakes.
To solve inconsistencies in the design and specification of non-structural elements, the Building Innovation Partnership is developing a seismic guidance framework covering performance characteristics, classification and quality assurance.
BRANZ CEO Claire Falck says Aotearoa New Zealand can learn crucial lessons from life-saving advances in earthquake preparedness made in Taiwan between two significant earthquakes in the last 25 years. Science led the way in Taiwan and it must continue to do so here.
In conventional building designs, key skeletal elements such as beams and columns bear the brunt of seismic forces. If these elements need repairing after an earthquake, it’s typically costly and disruptive. Collaborative research is shifting the focus – and changing the game – for buildings in quake-prone areas worldwide.
Why were many modern, high-end homes so badly damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes? By digging deep, a BRANZ engineer found the problem lay with incompatible bracing systems, with the resulting BRANZ guidance quickly embraced by the engineering community.
A low-cost base isolation system for houses prevented almost all damage when tested at the University of Canterbury. While the system will undergo further development, plans are to eventually take it to market.
