Dunedin Law Courts | ODT editorial

The Dunedin courthouse is one of the city’s finest historic buildings, and part of a heritage cluster impossible to match anywhere in this country.

We await an “unequivocal commitment” from the Government to return court services to their Dunedin home.

### ODT Online Tue, 22 Sep 2015
Editorial: ‘Nonsense’ courthouse costs
OPINION Really? Would earthquake strengthening of Dunedin’s courthouse really cost more than $15million as officials claim? Or is this another example where supposed post-earthquake costs are used as an excuse? Or can the Government simply not design and commission building work for reasonable prices? There is probably a bit of both.
Read more

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Dunedin structural engineer Stephen Macknight called the Government’s $15million strengthening figure “absolutely ridiculous”.

Director of Dunedin construction company Lund South, Russell Lund, said his experience suggested the $15million figure was “just not even credible”.

### ODT Online Sat, 19 Sep 2015
$15m bill for court rejected
By Craig Borley
Dunedin engineers and construction experts have rubbished the Government’s claims the city’s historic courthouse needs earthquake strengthening work worth more than $15 million. […] Lou Robinson, director of Hadley Robinson Engineering, said he knew the courthouse intimately after being involved in the 2002 work on the complex. He estimated an “upper limit on strengthening of perhaps $3 million”.
Read more

█ Website:
http://www.saveourcourthouse.nz

█ Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurCourthouse

█ Petition to Justice Minister Amy Adams:
http://bit.ly/1FlZIWy (via Avaaz platform)

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Related Posts and Comments:
7.9.15 Public petition to save Courthouse for courts use
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Post and image (2015) by Elizabeth Kerr

Standard Building, 201 Princes Street —then and today

Standard Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand Building (1875)
Architect: Mason and Wales

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█ Ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/throughjo/staircasing/

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### ODT Online Sat, 29 Aug 2015
Surprises in old buildings
By Craig Borley
The doors to some of Dunedin’s historic buildings will be opened to the public today as the city’s heritage festival continues. The Dunedin Heritage Festival began yesterday with the “Dunedin 1865: A City Rises” photographic exhibition in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. The festival finishes tomorrow. A major draw is the tours today and tomorrow of 64 historic buildings, which will be raising their customary barriers to the public […] the festival would also include a children’s heritage trail at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, a walking trail following Dunedin’s original shoreline and a special service in First Church.
Read more

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### ODT Online Tue, 2 Jun 2015
‘Absolutely incredible’ revamp of heritage building
By John Gibb
An “absolutely incredible” conservation and adaptive reuse project is nearing completion in Dunedin. This work on the Standard Building in Princes St, including extensive earthquake strengthening [and restoration of the Italian-style facade] has been undertaken as momentum grows to further revitalise the Exchange area, and a wave of adaptive reuse work continues to transform the nearby warehouse precinct. […] The project also includes the Stanton Building, situated behind the Standard Building, and backing on to the council’s Dowling St car park. A crucial – and previously largely hidden – feature of the redevelopment is an innovative, light-filled multilevel internal atrium, making extensive use of glass, which will link the two buildings and provide access to the various floors.
Read more

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Related Posts and Comments:
23.8.15 1865 Dunedin —Heritage Festival 2015 ‘The Open City’ Sat 29 August
23.8.15 1865 Dunedin —Heritage Festival 2015 Shoreline Trail launch
17.3.12 Call for photographs or building plans – Standard Building….
24.10.11 Former Standard Insurance building, 201 Princes St, Dunedin

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Post and 4 smartphone images by Elizabeth Kerr

Industrial Heritage Save: Cowes Hammerhead crane

Cowes Hammerhead crane at J S White Shipyard, Thetis Road

The 80 ton giant cantilever crane built of cast iron with a square tower of three stages with its base embedded in concrete was completed in 1911 by British firm Babcock and Wilcox.

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via Twitter

Cowes Isle of Wight @cowesofficial Long over-due repairs to the iconic Cowes Hammerhead crane have been announced by the Isle of Wight Council. fb.me/1qTwdPn6v 24/12/14 12:38:54 a.m.

IOWCouncil Official @iwight Repair works to Cowes Hammerhead Crane to begin in March. Full details at iwight.com/news/Hammerhead-Crane-repair-works-to-begin pic.twitter.com/K57leaER1h 23/12/14 10:24:23 p.m.

TheVictorianSociety @thevicsoc Cowes Hammerhead crane named in Victorian Society’s Top Ten List of Most Endangered Buildings shar.es/1moLcS 9/10/14 4:12:22 a.m.

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### onthewight.com Tuesday, 23 Dec 2014 9:35am
Isle of Wight News
Council make active moves to save important Island heritage
By Sally Perry
Repair works to secure the long-term future of the Cowes Hammerhead Crane are to begin in the new year after funding was received from English Heritage. Well done to all involved in moving this forward. The Cowes Hammerhead Crane is on English Heritage’s ‘at risk’ register and the organisation has put forward £76,000 to cover the costs of repairs to the famous structure. The council has appointed a specialist firm to carry out the works, which are due to begin in March 2015. The works will mainly see the corroded sections of steel from the crane’s tower replaced, with all new steel receiving a coat of paint. […] Clare Charlesworth, heritage at risk principal advisor for English Heritage, said: “Our grant towards the repair of the Hammerhead Crane means this nationally important piece of industrial heritage is one step closer to coming off the at risk register.”
Read more

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Only remaining pre-WWI hammerhead crane
The giant cantilever crane was built within the first decade of these cranes’ development and is the only remaining pre-WWI hammerhead crane in England.

### onthewight.com Wednesday, 8 Oct 2014 8:07am
Isle of Wight News
Cowes Hammerhead crane named in Victorian Society’s Top Ten List of Most Endangered Buildings
By Joe O’Donnell
Last year the iconic giant cantilever crane in Cowes – used for the production of naval warships – was named Most at Risk by English Heritage, today it has been added to the Victorian Society’s Top Ten List of Most Endangered Buildings. […] Cowes’ industrial past is epitomised by shipbuilder J.S. White’s 80 ton hammerhead crane – installed to increase capacity for the production of naval warships. One of these, HMS Cavalier, is preserved at Chatham Dockyard as a memorial to the 143 British destroyers and over 11,000 men lost at sea during WWII. […] Earlier this year, Isle of Wight Council issued an urgent works notice to the crane’s owner after the crane was found to be structurally unsound. The owner is now disputing the urgent works notice but we urge the Council to continue to press to secure the future of this industrial landmark.
Read more

[click to enlarge]

█ English Heritage List entry – No. 1390949 (history and description)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: Cowes Hammerhead crane – (from top) cowes.co.uk | iwradio.co.uk | staticflickr.com [6938825525_abb3906851_z] | woottonbridgeiow.org.uk (mixed media to b/w by whatifdunedin) | cowes.shalfleet.net (1950)

Imported steel —New Zealand, “sleepy corner of the world”

The question that is increasingly being asked here is whether New Zealand engineers can be absolutely certain they have been supplied the quality of steel they ordered and whether we have systems in place to ensure standards are adhered to. The industry appears to believe the answers to both of those questions is “no”.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 05/05/2013
Engineers flag concern over imported steel
By Rob Stock – Sunday Star-Times
The Institute of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) has secretly alerted the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of concerns about the quality of imported structural steel used in New Zealand buildings. The Institute admitted concerns about the quality of “materials and equipment including steel used in various industries – construction, engineering, and machinery” were relayed to MBIE just weeks ago, after being raised at the Institute’s annual forum in March. The Institute cautioned that the information received was “anecdotal” and “raised in a private members’ area”, adding “at this stage IPENZ is unaware of the scale of the issue, or whether they were one-off instances”.

Steel importers could easily find Chinese manufacturers willing to falsify certificates to pass off cheaper steel as high quality.

Less private, though, were two papers given at the Steel Innovations Conference in Christchurch in February, just before that March meeting, papers which for the first time publicly alluded to the issue. One paper delivered by three staffers of Australian steel company OneSteel called for the construction industry to only accept steel from manufacturers accredited by independent third parties. “In Australia, there have been some significant structural failures which have been due, either wholly or in part, to the lack of conformance of the product to the standard and the identification of its source. Unfortunately legal restrictions on the reporting of these failures means they cannot be readily identified or discussed in this paper,” the paper said. In other words, the steel was not what was ordered. Some might call it counterfeit. Evidence from the UK, the paper said, “undeniably confirms that the lack of product conformity and traceability is contributing to structural failures”.

“Engineers from quite different parts of the engineering family have realised that we all have this issue to some extent.” –John Hare, Structural Engineers Society

The second paper on the damage done by the Canterbury earthquakes to the 22-storey Pacific Tower in Christchurch, which has now been fully repaired, brings things closer to home. As one engineer familiar with the paper put it, there were instances of failure in some imported structural steel in the tower which should not have happened. “Some of the parts were damaged more than what was expected,” he said. The steel in question was imported from Singapore, and was found not to perform as well at lower temparature as New Zealand or Australian-made steel. The authors of the paper called for “rigorous traceability between mill certificates and the material used in the fabrication” for structural steel used in certain circumstances. “Steels of origins other than NZ/AU may not have the required toughness… to comply with the current New Zealand steel structures standards,” it said.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Ian Athfield at Dunedin | Open Lecture Friday 26 April

New Zealand Historic Places Trust RA Lawson Lecture

Ian Athfield — “Heritage Starts with a Great Idea Tomorrow”
Thoughts on community and heritage

New Zealand Historic Places Trust and New Zealand Institute of Architects – Southern Branch are co-sponsoring the public talk by one of New Zealand’s most well-known architects, Ian Athfield

Panel on stage – Lawrie Forbes (property developer), Glen Hazelton (DCC urban design), Elizabeth Kerr (architecture advocate), Stephen Macknight (structural engineer)

When: Friday 26 April 2013 at 7:30 pm

Where: University of Otago, St David Lecture Theatre
Union Street East, Dunedin

All welcome

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Ian Athfield is a prominent New Zealand architect who over his 40+ year career has contributed significantly to the built environment of New Zealand. He has a strong interest in urban design, landscape and the continuing craft of architecture with an emphasis on building off the existing physical environment.

While first establishing a reputation through innovative housing, Athfield is renowned for his big picture thinking in both urban and rural environments. He has been involved in the creation of many of New Zealand’s most successful urban spaces, landscapes, and buildings. His work continues to stretch across all scales from furniture and public sculpture to architecture, landscape, and urban design; and across type from domestic to civic.

Athfield’s contribution to architecture has received widespread recognition and not only earned his practice numerous design awards but earned him the 2004 NZIA Gold Medal, an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Victoria University and in 1996 the New Zealand Government made him a Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Ian Athfield is currently serving on the Board of The New Zealand Historic Places Trust, and as a member of the NZHPT Maori Heritage Council.

http://www.athfieldarchitects.co.nz/

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Related Posts:
3.3.13 RNZ Sunday Morning | Ideas: Re-imagining the Urban House
25.6.12 New Zealand Architects: Pete Bossley, and Ian and Claire Athfield
7.12.11 Ian Athfield on post-earthquake Christchurch #eqnz
19.9.11 NZIA members on Christchurch City Plan

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Prof Claudio Modena | Open Lecture Wednesday 1 May

New Zealand Historic Places Trust and New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering public talk

Professor Claudio Modena — “Retrofit of stone masonry buildings”
Italian research and practice

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) and the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) present a public talk by Italian earthquake engineering academic and consultant, Professor Claudio Modena.

When: Wednesday 1 May 2013 at 5:30 pm

Where: University of Otago, Quad 2 Lecture Theatre
1st floor Geology Building, Dunedin

All welcome

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Claudio Modena is a Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Padova, Italy (1994–). He has presented the course of “Structural Problems of Monumental Historical Heritage” in Architectural and Building Engineering and is Director of the Masters course in ‘Structural Restoration of Historic Monuments and Buildings’.

Author of over 200 papers in international journals and attendances at conferences, Claudio Modena is interested in analysis and design of construction, with particular attention on:
– masonry of historical and monumental structures
– strengthening/retrofitting in seismic areas
– retrofitting of metal and masonry arch bridges, and
– safety evaluations.

The professor has maintained a balance between academic and practical experience, combining with mutual benefit both research work and technical consulting. Most of his consulting activity is in the field of restoration and conservation of historic masonry structures.

Claudio Modena is a member of several technical and scientific committees: Cultural Heritage Ministry, Protection of Cultural Heritage from Seismic Hazard Committee. He is currently a member of the High Risks Committee – Seismic Risk Sector of the national Civil Protection Agency and of the special committee established by the Ministry of Infrastructures and Public Works for re-drafting the national codes system related to structural safety of both new and existing structures.

Visit this website for more information about the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering Inc www.nzsee.org.nz

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC sells Athenaeum, 23 The Octagon

Image: ODT Files

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Historic Athenaeum Building Sold

This item was published on 08 Apr 2013.

The Octagon Athenaeum has been sold in an agreement which provides an opportunity to meet community needs and protect the building’s historic features.

The Dunedin City Council agreed today to accept an offer from Lawrie Forbes, for a purchase price of $900,000. The offer is unconditional, with settlement on 1 May.

Mr Forbes has developed a number of historic buildings in Dunedin and was awarded the 2012 Dunedin City Council Supreme Award for Heritage Re-Use. Mr Forbes plans to earthquake strengthen the building using his company Zeal Steel and develop part of the building for an arts and culture use.

Mr Forbes also plans to place a restrictive covenant on the property title to ensure the heritage elements of the interior and exterior of the building are retained. The covenant is to be agreed between Mr Forbes and the [New Zealand] Historic Places Trust. If agreement cannot be reached on the wording of a suitable covenant within two years, this condition lapses.

Image: ODT Files

Following a December 2012 Council meeting, Colliers International were appointed as agents for the sale of the Athenaeum. A deadline treaty process began in January this year and four offers were received, ranging from $500,000 to $900,000.

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says while Mr Forbes’ offer was the highest, the Council also took into account his plans to meet community needs by protecting the heritage of the building with a covenant and work closely with the arts and cultural sector.

“What makes Lawrie Forbes’ offer so attractive is the strategic alignment it has with the overall vision for the city. It is very much in line with the outcomes envisaged by the Central City Strategy, the Heritage Strategy and Arts and Culture Strategy which is being developed.”

In October 2007, the DCC bought the Athenaeum for $1,130,000, with the possibility of using the building in a large theatre development. The development did not proceed and so the decision was made to sell the property.

The purchase price will leave the DCC with an estimated debt of $100,565, which is unbudgeted and must be repaid in the current financial year. The total cost of owning the building (from 2007 to 2013), once the sale is completed, is $502,302.

On average the holding costs have been $74,000 a year and the sale means the DCC no longer has these ongoing costs, nor the risks associated with owning the property.

● Athenaeum Report (PDF, 4.0 MB)
● Athenaeum minutes extract (PDF, 115 KB)

Contact the Mayor of Dunedin on 477 4000.

DCC Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin’s existing building stock

Standard Building Before

Standard Building March 2013 (Images: Glen Hazelton)

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Email received.

—– Original Message —–
From: Glen Hazelton
To: City Planning ; EMT (Executive Management Team) ; Council 2010-2013 (Elected Members)
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 6:59 AM
Subject: Standard Building Update

Hi there everyone

For those of you who have not noticed this already – the scaffolding is down on the former Canton/Standard Building in Princes St. Externally, only the ground floor work to go now – inside is also starting to look just as amazing. See the before and after to see just how much you can transform a building perceived a few years back as having little value by many.

This work is a testament to the tenacity and passion of the owner (Ted Daniels) and also the skill and craftsmanship of Daniel Pollard, who unfortunately passed away without seeing the finished project. The project has also been proudly supported by the Dunedin Heritage Fund and DCC Heritage Rates Relief. A great example of just what can be achieved in our city when people put their minds to it.

Regards

Glen Hazelton
Policy Planner (Heritage), City Planning
Dunedin City Council

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### ODT Online Tue, 2 Apr 2013
Buildings may be abandoned
By Simon Hartley
Spiralling earthquake-proofing costs could leave some Dunedin commercial property owners owing more on investments than the properties are worth. This raises the possibility buildings could be abandoned, that being the way to lose the least amount of money, a commercial property consultant says.

Dunedin has the third-largest concentration of pre-1976 buildings, about 3900, behind Auckland’s 19,050 and Christchurch’s 5000, according to Quotable Value and local body data collated in a consultation paper by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Dunedin last year had about 160,000sq m of office space, of which ”at least 10%” will be deemed earthquake-prone, Colliers International national director of research and consulting Alan McMahon said when contacted.

Dunedin City Council policy planner for heritage, Glen Hazelton, said 138 building owners had provided assessments. About 58 were less than 33% compliant and required upgrading. More assessments are expected when owners change use. Upgrades are expected at that time.

One [Dunedin] building owner, who did not want to be identified, said while the council had written to many building owners, many had not yet responded, as the deadline is July next year. Another source said far more assessments had been carried out than reported to the council and it was ”likely they don’t want the assessment put on public record just yet”.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Earthquake-proof your home

Expert Talk with Win Clark

Join Structural Engineer Win Clark to learn how to stabilise your home against the effects of earthquakes. Discover whether structural strengthening is required on all buildings and how this can be achieved.

Thursday 21 March
Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum
5.30pm
FREE!

Link to Poster

Part of the Canterbury Quakes exhibition — Otago Museum

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Government: Cull “punching at fog”

### ch9.co.nz February 22, 2013 – 6:48pm
Government disagrees with councils’ claims
The southern community could be up for a $1.8 billion bill for earthquake strengthening. The claim has come from Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull, speaking on behalf of ten councils from Timaru south. But the Government has called his announcements to the media unhelpful, and accused him of punching at fog.
Video

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Dunedin City Council Media Release — 22 February 2014
Southern Councils Highlight Major Concerns Over Earthquake-prone Buildings Proposals
Southern communities could face a bill of almost $1.8 billion under proposed changes to rules governing earthquake-prone buildings. Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says that councils accept work needs to be done on this issue in response to the tragic events in Christchurch, but that any changes need to be flexible, risk-based, practical and affordable for building owners and communities.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Proposed 100m hotel: Damn right, the fight’s not over! #Dunedin

Great to see the letter by award-winning architect Richard Shackleton given prominence in the ODT today. It sent me hunting for my copy of Paul Goldberger’s book, The Skyscraper (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982), bought in second professional year (BArch) at Auckland. Given what has happened since to skyscraper design internationally, the book is a little quaint, eclectic and short of stature – it will always be a useful commentary on the emergence and history of towers in the United States.

Most of the buildings Goldberger cites I visited on architectural study tour with a group of staff, students and friends of the Auckland School in 1984, at the start of my four-year fulltime Master of Architecture degree (thesis only). But that’s quite another rainy day story of ‘commercial facades’.

Goldberger begins his last chapter, ‘Beyond the Box’, saying:
“By 1980, one thing was clear: the box, the rationalist dream of the International Style [the austere glass box, his words], was making more and more architects uncomfortable. Not only was it no longer the clean and exhilarating structure that would serve as a clarion call to a new age, but it was not even able to hold out much promise of practicality. It was generally inefficient from the standpoint of energy, and it was not as marketable from the viewpoint of real estate operators either.”

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41 Wharf Street, Dunedin
For the applicant (Betterways Advisory Ltd), architect Jeremy Whelan of Ignite Architects (Auckland) is assisting Shanghai-based ECADI (Eastern China Architectural Design Institute), who were initially engaged by the client, with the conceptual design of the proposed hotel. It is claimed in Whelan’s brief of evidence that ECADI has significant international hotel experience and has completed projects for all major 5 star brand operators including Kempinski Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels, Marriot Hotels, Ritz Carlton Hotels and the Intercontinental Hotel Group.

The design of the 27-storey hotel tower crassly proposed for one of Dunedin’s best waterfront sites is the likes of which Goldberger correctly identifies as ‘tired’ by 1980 – at the time of writing, he hadn’t yet considered Arquitectonica’s work at Miami, Florida (see the landmark 20-storey luxury Atlantis condominiums built in 1982, famous for their cutout) – but Whelan certainly had, as a BArch contemporary of mine at Auckland School, and that building too is ‘tired’ as architectural metaphors and shared language go.

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[scanned]

ODT 3.1.13 Letter to the editor p12

Enter hotel in the search box at right to find recent posts and comments.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Enhancing building performance #eqnz

Knee-jerk reactions to government proposals are hardly necessary at Dunedin, the DCC’s earthquake-prone buildings policy has already been launched.

DCC Earthquake Strengthening + Policy

ODT 8.12.12:
Dunedin City Council [policy planner – heritage] Glen Hazelton said the Government’s proposals were “pretty much in line” with the council’s existing policy. That policy required owners whose buildings were found to be less than 34% of code requirements to upgrade. Owners had between 15 and 34 years to do so, depending on the state of their building, meaning some would face shorter timeframes under the Government’s proposals than they had expected, but not extra costs. The most earthquake damage-prone buildings had faced the shortest timeframes anyway under the council’s policy. The council had warned owners of the possibility timeframes would be reduced from 34 years.
The council’s own buildings – including the likes of the Town Hall, Municipal Chambers and Railway Station – were already having their earthquake strength tested, council city property manager Robert Clark said. That work began early this year and up to 30 written reports on individual buildings were expected by mid-next year. Some, such as the Municipal Chambers, had already been strengthened, while others, like the Railway Station, were considered to be of sturdy construction, but were being checked, he said. Results were yet to be made public, but buildings appeared to be “measuring up at the moment”, reaching 66% of the building code or even better, he said. The council already faced extra costs, having initiated its own checks, but it was “appropriate” to do so and ensure the health and safety of staff and the public. He expected the checks would meet the requirements of the Government proposals, although detailed information was yet to be received. Mr Clark doubted buildings would need to be abandoned or demolished.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/238351/quake-plans-could-see-buildings-adandoned

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### NZ Herald Online 5:30 AM Saturday Dec 8, 2012
Earthquake changes could cost $1.7bn
By Isaac Davison
Uncompromising proposals to eliminate or strengthen earthquake-prone buildings could change the face of character areas such as Mt Eden’s Dominion Rd, and cause complex disputes in high-rise apartments owned by multiple parties. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has proposed seismic assessment of all commercial and high-rise, multi-unit buildings in New Zealand – believed to be 193,000 properties.
Those that were not upgraded to withstand a moderate-sized earthquake within 10 years of assessment would be demolished.
The Government proposals were in response to a Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission report on quake-prone buildings, released yesterday. The ministry broadly agreed with the Royal Commission’s recommendations, but it proposed more lenient timeframes for strengthening and did not agree that the minimum threshold for remedial work should be raised. Housing and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said to do so would impose “catastrophic” costs on society.
The Government proposals have been released in a consultation paper. If they are adopted, the cost of the changes would be borne by councils and property owners.
Read more + Q&A

*****

Only 39 people died due to unreinforced masonry buildings at Christchurch, that’s remarkably few given the age and size of the city, the population size and concentration, and the extent of devastation caused by the quakes.

### NZ Herald Online 10:58 AM Friday Dec 7, 2012
Most NZ buildings to be quake assessed
By Isaac Davison
All non-residential buildings and high-rise, multi-unit apartments in New Zealand will be assessed for earthquake risk and the results made public under Government proposals released this morning.
Any building found to be at risk of collapse will have to be strengthened or demolished within 15 years under the proposed changes, which form the Government’s response to a Royal Commission investigation into earthquake-prone buildings after the Canterbury quakes.
The Government planned to adopt many of the commission’s recommendations, but has chosen longer timeframes and lower minimum standards of building strengthening than the report proposed.
The commission found there was poor information on earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand, lack of central guidance on defining and repairing these structures, and variable council approaches to fixing the problem. Only 23 of 66 local authorities were able to tell the commission how many earthquake-prone buildings were in their area.
Read more

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Related Posts and Comments:
19.7.12 Tonight – NZHPT Open Lecture WIN CLARK
2.7.12 Demolition by neglect. Townscape precincts.
26.1.12 Earthquake strengthening: voluntary targeted rates scheme
28.12.11 NZHPT National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund
15.12.11 Dunedin: Nominations for heritage re-use awards close next week
5.11.11 Barlow Justice Valuers / New Zealand Historic Places Trust—Heritage Interiors Award 2011-2012
10.10.11 Facebook: Upright! Supporting Dunedin’s Built Heritage
9.10.11 Facebook: Upright! Supporting Dunedin’s Built Heritage
9.10.11 Diesoline – supreme winner of the inaugural Dunedin Heritage Re-use Awards
8.10.11 Workshop for heritage building owners – 23 November
3.10.11 Historic heritage SAVE
14.9.11 DCC Media Release: Dunedin’s Heritage Buildings
13.9.11 DCC assistance possible for earthquake strengthening
1.9.11 DCC Finance, Strategy and Development Committee
29.7.11 Disappearing heritage #Dunedin
4.5.11 Dunedin’s goldrush-era heritage won’t fall over, unless you make it
26.4.11 Dunedin Heritage Buildings Economic Re-use Steering Group
28.3.11 Dunedin earthquake proneness 2
10.3.11 Layers of Gold – Dunedin Heritage Festival 18-21 March 2011
21.2.11 Dunedin Heritage: Central government should be contributing
21.2.11 The proactive heritage development lobby EXISTS in Dunedin
19.2.11 Dunedin, are you ‘of a mind’ to protect Historic Heritage?
20.1.11 Dunedin Heritage Fund
16.1.11 DScene: Honour heritage
26.12.10 Historic heritage notes

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Talking up modern office space to create demand…

With this kind of messaging in ODT (see below) – via Colliers – expect more consent applications for demolition and the construction of new buildings? Or was that “stand alone car parks” throughout Dunedin’s heritage fabric? See the ruination of townscape and listed precincts by a handful of rascal building owners who will not “build” in upper Stuart St, High St, and pending for Rattray St, Dunedin. Who has the money available for new-build officing in the CBD?

In Dunedin, it’s common knowledge in the building sector that strengthening an existing heritage building is approximately 10% of the cost of demolishing and erecting a new building (of similar scale) on the same site. People are doing their sums! Why else is fabric retention making economic sense right now for those actively engaged in heritage building investment and enhancing building performance. Good numbers of enlightened property owners* are at work in the private sector, keeping up the fabric, who don’t believe in demolition by neglect.

*Prospective tenants, talk to these people!

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### ODT Online Mon, 10 Sep 2012
Modern office accommodation in demand
By Simon Hartley
Commercial property rents in Dunedin’s central business district have increased slightly over the past year, with other data revealing Dunedin offers employers the lowest operating costs and the most space for employees. However, Christchurch’s earthquakes have sent jitters throughout the commercial property sector around the country, especially for older buildings and how they may be affected by insurance premium hikes. Colliers International, which monitors 160,000sq m of office space in Dunedin, has just released separate annual reports, on CBD office space nationwide and a workplace report. As Dunedin lease renewals come up, Colliers was seeing a push from tenants, especially those in older buildings, to relocate to modern office accommodation.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Tonight – NZHPT Open Lecture WIN CLARK

See earlier post with details and downloadable flyer.

CAN EARTHQUAKE PRONE BUILDINGS BE STRENGTHENED?

YES THEY CAN!

.

The future of ‘old buildings’ in Dunedin is a topical issue.
Come and hear Win Clark, consultant structural engineer and Executive Director for the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering talk about how stone and masonry buildings can be strengthened.

Find out:
• Why do masonry buildings fail?
• What are the biggest issues for strengthening ‘old buildings’?
• What modern techniques are available to strengthen brick and stone masonry buildings?
• What are the solutions to meet structural and economic criteria?

Win Clark is the consultant structural engineer for NZ Historic Places Trust.

THURSDAY 19 JULY 2012 5:30 to 7pm
OTAGO MUSEUM – BARCLAY THEATRE
419 Great King Street, Dunedin

Light refreshments to follow the conclusion of the talk.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

NZHPT Open Lecture: WIN CLARK

All welcome. Free entry.

NZHPT Win Clark flyer (PDF, 606 KB)

Win Clark is consulting structural engineer for NZ Historic Places Trust.

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Enquiries to Owen Graham, Area Manager – Otago/Southland
New Zealand Historic Places Trust/Pouhere Taonga

Floor 4, 109 Princes Street, PO Box 5467, Dunedin 9058, New Zealand
Phone 03 4779871 | DDI 03 4702362 | Cell 027 4316701 | Fax 03 4773893
Shop online at http://www.historic.org.nz/

Help keep New Zealand’s heritage places alive

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Owners of neglected buildings

[Thumbnails: ODT Files]

There are no surprises about the requirements on the separate owners of the Barron Building, N. & E.S. Paterson Building and Brocklebanks Building. Following the structural failure of parts of their buildings, for which the owners are responsible, the owners have been fully informed of their obligations. Further, had they acted earlier, as good stewards, to have their buildings structurally assessed and strengthened all that has passed since could have been avoided. All three buildings are located in District Plan listed townscape precincts. The Brocklebanks Building has a District Plan protected facade to King Edward St.

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### ODT Online Tue, 8 May 2012
A ‘nightmare’ waiting to have collapsed buildings demolished
By Allison Rudd
The owners of two unstable 19th-century Dunedin buildings say they cannot believe how long it is taking to demolish them. Lincoln Darling, owner of the Barron Building in Rattray St, which partly collapsed in January last year, said yesterday he “didn’t realise there was so much red tape involved” in demolishing a building. Norma Brocklebank, co-owner of the Brocklebank Dry Cleaners building in King Edward St, South Dunedin, said yesterday waiting so long to demolish her building when its facade was ruled almost a year ago to be in immediate danger of collapsing and the building condemned had been a “nightmare”.

Mr Darling and Scenic Circle Hotel Group director Stuart McLauchlan said yesterday the demolition of their buildings was imminent. A contractor had been given the go-ahead to proceed and demolition could not happen soon enough, Mr McLauchlan said.

Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University of Otago staff forum: earthquake prone buildings on campus

### ODT Online Sun, 4 Mar 2012
University to hear quake-test update
By Matthew Haggart
University of Otago staff will learn next week how the institution’s historic buildings, including the landmark clock tower and registry buildings, are likely to fare in the event of a major earthquake. A private forum – off-limits to students, the general public and media – will be held in the College of Education auditorium at noon on Tuesday to update staff on the earthquake evaluation assessments of the university’s buildings. Hosted by Otago vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne, the forum will include an explanation of several engineering reports commissioned to assess a “first group” of buildings.
Read more

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Earthquake evaluations (via ODT)
University of Otago Buildings which required secondary assessment:
– Registry and clock tower building, 364 Leith Walk
– Geology building (registry complex), 360 Leith Walk
– Staff Club building, 80 Union Pl West
– Lindo Ferguson Building (School of Medicine), 270 Great King St
– Scott Building (School of Medicine), 260 Great King St
– Cumberland College, 250 Castle St
– Arts Building, 95 Albany St
– St David 2 Building, 75 St David St

[For better or worse, is Norris the right man…]
• The forum is scheduled to open with a short talk by Prof Richard Norris, of the geology department, about earthquake hazard in Dunedin and the likelihood of such an event.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Earthquake strengthening: voluntary targeted rates scheme

### ODT Online Thu, 26 Jan 2012
New rate to fund strengthening
By David Loughrey
The Dunedin City Council gave approval for a second “targeted rate” system to improve city buildings yesterday when it voted for a scheme to help fund earthquake-strengthening for heritage building owners. That followed a decision on Tuesday to back a similar scheme to fund insulation and clean heating for residential buildings.
Read more

The voluntary targeted rates schemes work by providing finance to ratepayers – in this case to complete earthquake-strengthening – with the cost to be paid off through rates over a specified period.

• There would be about $500,000 available in the first year.
• Applications would be considered by the four city councillors on the Dunedin Heritage Fund, and three New Zealand Historic Places Trust representatives, with a final decision by the council finance, strategy and development committee.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Workshop for heritage building owners – 23 November

### ODT Online Sat, 8 Oct 2011
Heritage building workshop planned
By David Loughrey
Communication between Dunedin building owners and the city council is strengthening, as the council works to help owners find ways to re-use the city’s stock of heritage buildings.

The council’s second annual one-day workshop for heritage building owners will be held on November 23. The theme this year is “After Christchurch: What to know about owning an older building”, with the free workshop targeting owners of non-residential buildings.

The first workshop, an initiative of the council’s heritage buildings economic re-use steering group, attracted more than 80 people last November, with numbers bolstered by concerns following the first major Christchurch earthquake. Council heritage policy planner Glen Hazelton said strong interest was expected again.
Read more

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7.10.11 DCC Media Release

To register or for more information contact Glen Hazelton 477 4000 or ghazelto@dcc.govt.nz

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Workshop Highlights
• Speakers include Jason Ingham, from the University of Auckland and co-author of a report for the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission entitled ‘The Performance of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URM) in the 2010/2011 Canterbury Earthquake Swarm’, Alan Race (Crombie Lockwood) on insurance matters, and Lou Robinson (Hadley Robinson) on earthquake strengthening.

• The New Zealand Historic Places Trust and Dunedin City Council will provide presentations, with the DCC outlining its new Earthquake-prone Buildings Policy and the range of incentives available to heritage building owners to assist earthquake strengthening.

• Steve Macknight of Steve Macknight Strengthening and Design and Lawrie Forbes of Zeal Steel, will conduct site visits to earthquake strengthening projects.

Workshop for Heritage Building Owners Information Flyer (PDF, 219.6 KB)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Building facade failure: “It’s only the facade at the front that can’t be used”

What is building performance monitoring, cyclical maintenance, restoration and structural repair? Or, read: Good stewardship of the built environment is eroded by owners inclined to apathy and hands-off neglect, while they continue to extract rents from tenants.

Not helped by the Dunedin City Council’s half-baked street improvements scheme for King Edward St, South Dunedin, led by ‘feel good’ inexperienced staff. This scheme puts money to the likes of unsympathetic paintwork (destroying patina of age), ugly street furniture, and traffic management plans – rather than to the means of generating funds for building conservation, first and foremost to preserve heritage values and the community’s enduring ‘sense of place’ as the basis for future development and economic return.

Images (2010): Elizabeth Kerr

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Brocklebanks Dry Cleaners owner Roger Brocklebank, whose family trust owns the building, said a family trustee had met DCC chief building control officer, Neil McLeod, about the damage yesterday.

### ODT Online Sat, 13 Aug 2011
South Dunedin building facade unsafe
By Nigel Benson
A south Dunedin building was closed by the Dunedin City Council yesterday and is likely to be condemned after its facade was discovered to be cracking and leaning. The building, on the corner of King Edward St and Carey Ave, houses four businesses; Fine Art Mounting, Dinkum Donuts, Feedback burger bar and Brocklebanks Dry Cleaners.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin earthquake proneness 2

DCC Earthquake-prone Buildings Policy

UPDATED

### ODT Online Mon, 28 Mar 2011
Quake policy prepared, owners to pay
By David Loughrey
A new policy to protect Dunedin from the ravages of a disaster such as the recent Christchurch earthquake could cost the city council more than $3 million over the next 10 years, and require significant work to put together a database of earthquake-prone buildings.
Read more

Report – Council – 28/03/2011 (PDF, 404.9 KB, new window)
Review of Earthquake Prone Buildings Policy

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### ODT Online Tue, 29 Mar 2011
Quake proposal open for debate
By David Loughrey
Dunedin’s new earthquake policy got the go-ahead from the Dunedin City Council yesterday; now it is the turn of the public, and the building owners who may have to pay to strengthen the city’s building stock, to have their say. At a full council meeting yesterday, councillors declined to increase the level of strengthening required from 34% to 67% of new building standards, with the latter figure agreed to be outside the ability of most owners to pay.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Earthquake proneness

Jason Ingham has been investigating the failure of building stock during the Christchurch earthquake, in particular the fate of unreinforced masonry buildings.

### ODT Online Mon, 14 Feb 2011
Opinion: Taking masonry’s measure
By Jason Ingham
The significant damage caused by the Darfield Earthquake has focused attention firmly on buildings that may be at higher risk in an earthquake. The performance of unreinforced and retrofitted masonry buildings has been of particular interest and observations from the Darfield earthquake are extremely relevant to Dunedin, Queenstown, to all of New Zealand and to earthquake prone zones internationally.
Read more

Jason Ingham, associate professor in the department of civil engineering, University of Auckland, and member of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering management committee. He will be presenting his findings at a seminar in Queenstown today, organised by NZSEE.

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Monday 14 February 2011
Seismic Assessment & Improvement of Buildings & Foundations – Queenstown
This seminar will report on the findings from a six year study that acquired experimental information and developed techniques for performing detailed seismic assessment of buildings and their foundations, and associated methods for improving their performance if assessed to be seismically deficient.
More information (via IPENZ)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Hotel tower: developer “flashpoints” and the elusive mix of activities

### nzherald.co.nz 5:30 AM Saturday Oct 2, 2010
Is Auckland’s ‘urban village’ ideal straying off course?
By Geoff Cumming
How you see the restoration of a collection of century-old buildings on Auckland’s downtown waterfront is a matter of perspective. From one angle, the Britomart heritage precinct is the best thing to happen on the waterfront in a generation or three – cocking a snook at property hard-heads who argued that the 18 largely derelict buildings were beyond a bankable future. From another, it is a public-private partnership where the balance appears to be tilting towards the developer; where the promised “people-friendly” benefits of this urban revitalisation are crumbling.
The immediate flashpoint is the private plan change allowing the developers to build a high rise luxury hotel on the sailors’ home/Schooner Tavern site on Quay St. That decision has split architectural and urban design critics, some maintaining that new high rise can be successfully blended with low-rise heritage buildings. If so, it will be a first for Auckland.
Read more
(link via Richard Walls)

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### http://www.stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00 02/10/2010
Demolition likely of four heritage sites
By Glenn Conway – The Press
The fate of six earthquake-damaged Christchurch heritage buildings will be decided by city councillors on Monday, with staff saying four are too expensive to repair.

Those under threat include Manchester Courts in Manchester St, the former Nurse Maude Association building in Madras St and two Sydenham retail properties in Colombo St.

Two others – the Ohinetahi property of architect Sir Miles Warren at Governors Bay and a former shoe-polish factory in Ferry Rd – have been recommended for full or partial restoration.

Detailed reports and heritage assessments on all six buildings will be debated at an extraordinary meeting of the council starting at 9.30am on Monday. It is expected to be the final meeting of the current council, with local body elections next Saturday.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

RNZ National: David Hopkins on Quake-proof Buildings

UPDATED

### RNZ National 101FM 28 March 2010 at 8:40am
Sunday Morning with Chris Laidlaw
www.radionz.co.nz/Sunday

David Hopkins – Quake-proof Buildings
Earthquake specialist Doctor David Hopkins has been in Indonesia helping to assess the safety of public buildings damaged in last year’s quake that hit the city of Padang. He discusses the ability of buildings to withstand earthquakes, both in New Zealand and overseas.
Or, the seeming inability of so many countries to prepare for or deal with earthquakes…
Audio | Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3 ( 18′ 19″ )

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr