important, and for many of us is knowledge we need to know.
We're making a donut city. Rebuilding our city will be hard enough even
if we don't make basic beginners mistakes. I fear that is what we are
doing.
JSV.
*SOLUTIONS TO EARTHQUAKE RISK UNCERTAINTY*
/Christchurch, October 14, 2011/
More than 1,000 buildings in the CBD of Christchurch are slated for
demolition. Thousands of damaged houses have been identified as a total
loss. High numbers of demolished buildings and houses would adversely
affect the economic recovery and availability of affordable insurance
and financing.
As evidenced by the number of non-functional, tilted buildings in
Christchurch, meeting only the minimum building code is not good enough.
The code may limit loss of life, but it will provide one-earthquake
buildings—or a throw away city. This minimum code approach is a
worldwide issue.
Cities untouched by this earthquake, such as Wellington, may face a
greater earthquake threat, causing earthquake insurance rates to
increase. Financial institutions will have a more difficult time
properly identifying the investment risk.
But there are solutions. High-Performance Earthquake Engineering can
effectively save many of the buildings in Christchurch. The cost to
repair and strengthen an existing damaged building by bringing it up to
current code, and even exceeding minimum code, can be 5 to 30 percent
of the cost to replace a building because of the good quality of New
Zealand construction.
In new construction, earthquake-sustainable buildings can be built for 2
to 5 percent additional cost. This option is very cost-effective because
these buildings will not only survive the earthquake, but they will be
operational afterwards.
For owners, insurance and financial institutes, earthquake risk can be
defined in terms of financial loss and business interruption. This will
be the basis of risk management. Existing buildings can be seismically
upgraded cost-effectively to manage the risk with limited operational
interruption.
Earthquake risk management and earthquake engineering are central to the
joint venture Miyamoto + Cardno Earthquake Structural Engineers.
Combining 100 years of experience in New Zealand and global earthquake
engineering, Miyamoto + Cardno will give building owners, insurance
companies, government entities, corporations, architects, engineers, and
contractors options to solve uncertainty.
Garry Moore, former mayor of Christchurch says, “/Miyamoto + Cardno will
not only provide solutions for the current earthquake damage and risk
management dilemma we face, but they may save lives and businesses. To
me, that’s all that matters/.”