PHOTO COURTESY OF NIWA DAVE ALLEN.

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Resilient
buildings
Violent weather and devastating earthquakes
have turned attention to the challenge of
making our buildings more resilient. Is it too
much to expect buildings to protect life and
be reusable shortly after a crisis?

In this section

44 What is resilience? 45 Built to last

48 Resilient building design 51 Your buildings
resilience 54 Resilience costs 56 Is it worth it?
59 Seismic technology showcase 64 Five drivers
66 Hazardous work

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What is resilience?
Resilience was the 2013 buzzword, and 2014 will see a continued focus
on how to make individuals, communities, buildings and infrastructure
more resilient. But what does resilience mean?
BY PROFESSOR SUZANNE WILKINSON, DR SEOSAMH COSTELLO AND MAS0UD SAJOUDI, THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

of resilience as robustness, redundancy,

of how multi-hazards affect a building,

resourcefulness and rapidity.

structure or system is recommended.

Robustness
Robustness is a key feature of resilience and

Related features

refers to a buildings potential to cope with

The other four features of resilience that are

stress without failing or losing significant

commonly referred to capacity, flexibility,

function. For infrastructure, this could be

tolerance and cohesiveness overlap with

a networks ability to continue operating

the previous definitions.

after being subjected to external pressures

Capacity is similar to robustness in that it is

or disturbances.

seen as the ability of a building or network to

RESILIENCE is a broad concept with many

Redundancy

withstand disruption. However, capacity also

definitions but most include elements of

Redundancy allows for alternative choices,

incorporates redundancy to allow infrastruc-

the following, saying that resilience is the

decisions and substitutions in a building

ture to absorb additional demand in a crisis.

ability to:

system so that there are different recovery

Flexibility is the ability to be adaptable or

absorb shock in a time of crisis

options in the case of disaster or when

change in response to external pressures,

recover the functionality of the building

under pressure.

although this may be more applicable to

after a disaster or a sudden shock

Resourcefulness

networks than buildings.

operate appropriately even if parts of the

Resourcefulness is the ability to manage

Tolerance is related to how well a building

building fail.

the impacts of the crisis on the system or

behaves near its design boundary whether

Another clear way of looking at resilience,

building, including mobilising effective

the system slowly fails as stress increases

as defined by the US National Infrastructure

people, processes and needed materials

so there is time for life safety or collapses

Advisory Council (NIAC), is the ability to

after a crisis, so rapid recovery can happen.

quickly when stress exceeds the buildings

reduce the magnitude and/or duration of

Frederic Petit believes that, by incorporating

ability to cope. Tolerance is important in

disruptive events.

resourcefulness into resilience, a system,

avoiding sudden collapse.

building or structure can recovery quicker.

Cohesiveness refers to how well different

Four pillars of resilience

Rapidity

parts of a building work together as a system.

Eight principal features are used to define

Rapidity looks at how quickly the function

In order to incorporate cohesiveness into a

building and infrastructure resilience

of a network, or the use of a building, can

resilience measure, building elements and

some are complementary, others overlap.

be restored after a shock. Rapidity is impor-

their behaviour should be considered as part

Thomas ORouke defined the four pillars

tant for resilience of buildings so an analysis

of a whole building system.

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Built to last
The global weather forecast is daunting, and earthquakes are a regular
event. With insurance costs already climbing, we badly need buildings
that can stand up to the forces of nature.
BY NICK HELM, FREELANCE WRITER, TENPOINT COMMUNICATIONS, WELLINGTON

generated a 40 m tsunami that severely

damaged or destroyed over 1 million homes
and buildings.
In just the last few months, unprecedented
storm activity in the UK has caused severe
coastal erosion and flooding and displaced
thousands of people. Here at home, the 2010
and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes highlighted
our own vulnerability.
While these are all undoubtedly extraordinary events, much of New Zealands built
environment is vulnerable to hazards such
as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity,
flooding, heavy snowfall, windstorms,

Heavy rain undermines a house in 2006.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NIWA ALAN BLACKLOCK.

droughts, landslides, fire and a range of

manmade hazards. Lack of resilience can
carry a high price tag.

Big losses highlight need to mitigate

According to the Insurance Council of New
Zealand, 2013 is likely to become the second
most expensive year on record for weatherrelated damage, with over $174 million of
insured costs arising from weather-related
events. Nearly half this cost was created by

THE NUMBER AND INTENSITY of natural

In 2005, storm surge and flooding from

damage to commercial and residential prop-

disasters in the last few years serve to

Hurricane Katrina caused US$80 billion in

erty during a single storm in September.

remind us just how fragile our built environ-

damage in one of the most deadly events

And this is becoming a trend.

ment can be when faced with the forces

in US history. In 2011, the magnitude 9.0

of nature.

Thoku earthquake off the coast of Japan

The Council believes that climate change

is likely to cause stronger winds and

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higher levels of rain in parts of the country

levels of mitigation for some hazards

Take Christchurch Womens Hospital

already prone to flooding, underlining the

but there may be less obvious hazards to

a 10-storey base-isolated building that

need for New Zealand to focus on strategies

consider.

remained fully operational immediately after

to mitigate the effects of disaster in order to

For example, a coastal location may

minimise economic losses and social

be susceptible to tsunamis, sea-level rise

both the September 2010 and February 2011

earthquakes.

disruption.

and coastal erosion, while a high-altitude

Standing up to gales

location may experience higher winds and

In order to create a building resilient to

Designing in resilience

excessive snow load and extended periods

excessive wind loads generated by strong

A way to successfully mitigate loss of life,

isolated from roads and the national elec-

storms, hurricanes and tornadoes, designers

property and amenity is to design buildings

tricity grid.

should try to ensure the building envelope

that are resilient to disaster, says Dr Suzanne

As climate change advances and the

is robust and well sealed and strengthen the

Wilkinson, Professor of Construction

severity and frequency of extreme weather

superstructure to withstand higher lateral

Management at the University of Auckland.

events increases, all New Zealand locations

loads and vertical lifting forces.

Dr Wilkinson says a resilient building

are likely to be exposed to quite different

In parts of the US where extreme winds

has the ability to absorb change and distur-

conditions by the time the building reaches

are common, for example, the National

bances in a time of crisis, quickly recover

the end of its useful life in 50 or 100 years

Institute of Building Sciences recommends

functionality after a disaster or sudden

or more.

additional bracing of roof trusses and

shock and continue to operate even when

gable ends, installing hurricane straps to

some components of the building fail.

Sustainable doesnt mean resilient

strengthen the roof-to-wall and wall-to-foun-

The degree of resilience, she adds, can be

It is also important not to confuse resilient

dation connections and placing coverings

measured using eight key characteristics

design with sustainability, although the

over doors, windows and other penetrations

robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness,

two are complementary in many ways.

in the building envelope.

rapidity, capacity, flexibility, tolerance and

Even the most advanced green building

Holding back the surges

cohesiveness.

that is designed, constructed and operated

Other effects of extreme weather, such as

according to sustainable principles is not

ground flooding or storm surge, are often

necessarily resilient to disaster.

best dealt with at an urban design level or

The resilient design process

For both commercial and residential

A low carbon footprint, high-efficiency

by avoiding obvious high flood-risk areas

projects, a resilient design process begins

light bulbs and recycled rainwater dont

such as river floodplains, estuaries and

with a careful investigation into how the

count for much if the building collapses in

other low-lying coastal areas.

building will be used. The designer should

an earthquake, power is cut or the ground

consider how the occupants will interact

floor floods in a bad storm.

with the buildings systems each day and

If this is not possible, the designer can

boost the buildings resilience by creating
adequate draining and waterflow systems for

understand their expectations in terms of

Standing up to shakes, gales and surges

underground car parks, basements, ground

the level of service the building provides

Traditionally, structural components

floor levels, roofs and any other areas where

during and after disaster.

such as bracing, shear walls and moment-

water may collect. Critical systems, such

resisting frames have been used to resist

as generators and heating systems can be

Hazard assessment

earthquake shaking in a strength up to

placed as high above ground in the building

Its also important to accurately assess the

a limit approach. They are resilient to

as possible to avoid failure. Some aspects

hazards that the building will be exposed

minor seismic events, but in a design level

of tsunami hazards can be mitigated in the

to now and in the future and the effects

event, they are designed to fail slowly in the

same way.

they will have on the buildings structure,

interests of preserving life.

occupants, functionality and surrounding

Strengthened against shakes

A broader picture

infrastructure.

Many modern earthquake resilience systems

These are just a few simple strategies to

Much of New Zealand is prone to earth-

suffer no such limitations. Base isolation,

design a more resilient building. Of course,

quakes, so designers should consider the

post-tensioned frames and vibration

disaster resilience is not limited to buildings

relative seismicity of the buildings loca-

damping systems have all been proven to

to be effective, it must also encourage a

tion indeed, this is a requirement of the

greatly enhance a buildings capacity to

long-term commitment to resilience in our

Building Code, which governs minimum

withstand extreme seismic events.

communities, infrastructure and people.

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Resilient
building design
The Canterbury earthquakes have firmly placed building resilience in
the spotlight. As an industry, we did not perform as well as the public
expected how can we do better in the future?
BY ROGER SHELTON, BRANZ SENIOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

TWO OF THE MOST vital components of a

preparation of national seminars on the

resilient community are functional buildings

findings and lessons learnt, we have distilled

seismic resilience. Unless the land is poten-

and a functional infrastructure. With the

the lessons into six main themes.

tially unstable, the engineering problems

application of good seismic design practice,

Hillside sites require extra care to achieve

can usually be solved. However, usually

resilient buildings that continue to function

Site location and conditions crucial

the added complexity brings increased

as intended after an earthquake can be

As building industry practitioners, we may

design fees and building costs.

achieved.

not have much influence over building

The LIM for the property may alert you

While most buildings in Christchurch

siting, but sometimes there is an oppor-

to location-related issues, but it is usually

performed up to Building Code expectations

tunity at the prepurchase stage. There are

worthwhile checking the territorial author-

especially for life safety the empty areas

several things to look out for:

itys hazard maps.

of the CBD and eastern suburbs are a stark

Low-lying coastal sites have potential for

reminder that resilience was not achieved to

tsunami damage, particularly in vulner-

Reduce complexity

the extent that most of us expected.

able Pacific Ocean-facing areas and at the

Complexity may be caused by plan and

head of long tapering inlets. There are not

vertical irregularity often unavoidable

Lessons from Canterbury

many opportunities within the building

on hillside sites with split floor levels and

The New Zealand Building Code is a world

sector for mitigation of this sort of hazard.

differing structural systems. During the

Low-lying riverside sites, particularly

design process, some of these features arise

starting point. However, its sheer scope

adjacent to estuaries, can be vulnerable

as the designers try hard to accommodate

and complexity means that it is very easy

to liquefaction. The key drivers are a high

the clients wishes.

to get bogged down in the detail and lose

water table and loose fine-grained soils.

What started out as a simple concept

sight of the bigger picture.

Unfortunately, many New Zealand settle-

ends up as a complex structure, rapidly

Following extensive experience gained

ments sprung up in these areas because

consuming design fees. While complex

after the Canterbury earthquakes and

of the historical reliance on sea transport.

structures can be modelled relatively easily

leader and a very good tool to use as a

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Hazard map for Porirua highlights the local issues.

using todays computer analysis software,

be compensated for by more structure, but

The key measure here is the relative

two detrimental effects come into play:

as we have seen, this usually adds building

horizontal deflection between storeys

The structural designer loses the intuitive

costs for equivalent building resilience.

engineers call this drift. If this is too

feel for the structure that will so often act

Another angle is to plan the building with

great, brittle elements such as windows

as a warning that something is not right.

heavy items as low as possible. For example,

will shatter, service pipes will leak at

The dynamic behaviour of the structure

it may be possible to locate plant rooms low

joints, claddings may fall and, in the worst

under the earthquake ground motion

in the building, where they will also be easier

case, heavy elements such as stairs will

is different to what was assumed in the

to service.

slide off their supports with disastrous

loading standard.

consequences.

The result is that the performance of the

Structural stiffness is good

structure under earthquake action is more

While there is a perception that the struc-

flexibility, but usually the most effective

difficult to predict with certainty than a

ture needs to flex in an earthquake to

way is more structure more bracing walls,

simpler structure.

survive, this is a concept focusing solely on

bigger columns and beams.

There are clever ways to reduce structural

It is worth adding that complex buildings

the prevention of collapse. Today, and more

The alternative is to provide separation

are also more likely to have a higher risk of

than ever after the Christchurch experience,

between structural and non-structural

weathertightness problems.

there is an expectation that minimisation of

components, but this comes with the price

damage to buildings is essential for seismic

of more costly detailing and can create

resilience.

problems in achieving weathertightness.

Reduce weight
The desirability of reducing weight is pretty

The primary way to achieve this is to

well accepted by most in the building

provide a structure with sufficient lateral

Care with connections

industry. Besides seismic vulnerability, other

stiffness that its deflections under seismic

Connections between structural elements

downsides include bigger foundations and

action will be low enough to avoid damage

and between structure and non-structural

higher construction costs. Seismic weight can

to non-structural components and finishes.

components are vital in achieving

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With planning, building services can survive earthquakes.

Complex buildings present challenges.

building resilience. Connections are clearly

at fasteners such as bolts and pull-out or

components in earthquakes are a result of

the province of the structural engineer, but

break-out of bolts and fixings cast into

excessive building deflection and the lack of

other members of the team also need to be

concrete members. Allowing for movement

structural stiffness, but toppling or falling

aw a re o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f ro b u s t

caused by the effects of temperature and

due to lack of anchorage is also common.

connections.

shrinkage make connection detailing all the

Examples of connection failures are ceiling

more important.

One of the practical difficulties is the sheer

number of items to be considered and the

collapses, cladding panels falling onto pedes-

Connections are a classic case where it is

complexities of the arrangements often

trian ways and, in the extreme situation,

very true to say that the devil is in the details.

needed to fit systems into leftover spaces,

floor slabs parting from shear walls. The

for example, ceiling spaces.

latter is also an example of faulty diaphragm

Robust building services

design, which is an area receiving much

Failure of non-structural components

the activities of the various parties involved

attention from the structural engineering

including building services is typically

the architect, structural engineer, services

community at present.

the primary reason for non-occupation

engineer, HVAC contractor, ceiling contractor

Providing connections with sufficient

of a building. As we have seen recently in

and sprinkler contractor at the very least is

structural ductility is essential. The whole

Christchurch and Wellington, this may lead

the only way to ensure that each partys

load path from member to member must be

to costly business interruption.

requirements fit into the whole. An essential

A well developed plan for coordinating

considered. Frequently, the steel connection

Failures can range from the movement of

ingredient in this is ensuring that building

itself is quite robust, but the connection

a domestic hot water cylinder up to leakage

models are shared at the design stage and

to the substrate can be friable or brittle.

of a water pipe in a multi-storey commercial

that each team member is fully briefed

Examples are splitting of timber members

building. Most failures of non-structural

before committing to pricing the job.

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Your buildings
resilience
Organisations need to understand what resilience means for the
buildings they inhabit or own. Here are some of the issues for an
organisation to consider as it works through the challenges ahead.
BY DR ERICA SEVILLE, RESILIENT ORGANISATIONS NEW ZEALAND, DAVID BRUNSDON, KESTREL GROUP,
AND JOHN HARE, HOLMES CONSULTING GROUP
SINCE THE CHRISTCHURCH earthquakes,

building such as a theatre designed to

New Zealand organisations have been

higher performance standards than one

reviewing the resilience of the buildings

with low occupancy.

they operate in. But resilience for buildings

Similarly, buildings that support critical

involves more than robust construction it

post-disaster functions, such as hospital

includes links with the operational planning

operating theatres, are assigned an impor-

of the organisations that occupy them.

tance level that requires they are both

standing and usable afterwards.

Steps to understanding

These importance levels provide a broad

Start by asking some questions to get a wider

hierarchy of societal performance objectives

understanding of your buildings context:

for buildings.

Does your organisation own the building

Organisations, particularly those with

it occupies or is it a tenant?

several buildings, should create performance

Do you occupy one building or several,

objectives for their own premises. Look

and are they in the same location or

at how each building is used. How often

geographically spread?

are people inside and what equipment is

Is the surrounding environment vulner-

there? How time-critical are the operations

able to earthquakes and other hazards

conducted in the building would being out

consider neighbouring buildings, key

of action for a few hours, a few weeks or a

access routes and infrastructure services?

few months be a problem? How easy would

it be to relocate if required?

How important is your building to you?

The concept of importance levels for

Weighing up the risks

different buildings is embedded in our

When engineers assess buildings, they often

design codes, with a high-occupancy

focus on the %NBS the capacity and

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performance of the building as a percentage

relocate capacity and may be less concerned

is damaged or becomes inaccessible or unus-

of an equivalent new building built to

with building resilience beyond Code

able for any reason.

todays Building Code.

expectations.

However, this is a very broad metric,

The time when a lease is signed is essentially the only opportunity to sort out these

and organisations need to be savvier at

A few other things to consider

issues, so this is when it is important to get

understanding how their buildings are

Also consider the non-structural elements

as much information as possible about the

likely to perform in a major event. Talk of

of your building. Does it have heavy ceiling

likely performance of the building.

earthquake-proof buildings is a misnomer,

tiles or large items of furniture that create

as any building will fail if the forces are great

safety risks? Is equipment properly secured?

enough.

Buildings %NBS just part of the issue

Are you likely to be left with a major repair

New Zealand has a legacy problem of

There are several key questions to ask:

bill and downtime due to damage to fixtures

older building stock that will take time to

What are the life-safety risks associated

and fittings, such as wall linings or lighting

remedy. While it might be desirable for

with how the building might fail will

or heating systems? Consider the resilience

every building your organisation occupies

people be killed or injured?

of the infrastructure services supplying your

to be optimally resilient, this isnt going to

Will the building remain functional after-

premises a multi-storey building isnt much

occur overnight.

wards it might not look pretty, but could

use without power or water.

people go back in and use the building?

Evacuating a building at 5 minutes notice

Think about the neighbourhood and what

when getting an engineers report that says

How long would it take to repair the

could prevent you and your staff accessing

it is less than <33%NBS is not usually the

damage is it likely to be a quick fix or a

your building, even if it is undamaged. How

required response.It is important to under-

demolish-and-replace job?

well are the buildings contents protected?

stand the contributing factors to the low

Depending on the design, some buildings

Is your basement storing valuable records

rating and what the consequence of failure

may perform well on one or two of these

or equipment that could be water damaged?

may be before making a decision.

criteria but poorly on the others. It is impor-

Also think about the different scenarios

Sometimes, the fact that a building is

tant to understand the level of the event at

that could make your building unusable.

simply earthquake-prone may not be as

which functionality can become impaired

Often, we focus on hazards that we have

concerning as discovering that it has a critical

and the safety of lives a concern.

recently experienced. Think about where

vulnerability that might cause catastrophic

your building is located and other hazards

collapse in a much larger earthquake.

Setting priorities

it may be exposed to are these risks

Health and safety legislation does not

Develop a plan to progressively improve the

increasing because of climate change or how

require a workplace to be a zero-risk environ-

resilience of your organisations building

the neighbourhood is developing?

ment but it does require that organisations

stock. Not every building needs to be

develop a plan for how to make that work-

serviceable after an event in many cases,

Review your tenancy agreement

simply getting people out unharmed is a

Building tenants that suffer damage can find

sensible objective.

place as safe as practically possible.

themselves in a difficult position. Unlike

Think creatively

Think about your buildings resilience as

owner-occupiers, tenants have little control

Involve staff in decision-making and come

an investment rather than a compliance deci-

over the time and way in which any damage

up with staged solutions for dealing with

sion. What would it cost your organisation

is repaired.

any earthquake-prone buildings your

if a particular building became inaccessible

After the Christchurch earthquakes, many

organisation uses. For example, if there is

tenants found themselves shut out and poorly

one part of a building that is particularly

Business continuity considerations are not

informed about the future of their premises.

vulnerable, staff might have ideas for how

just for hospitals and critical infrastructure

Delays in the start of repairs rendered some

to adjust operations so that it is rarely

organisations. Manufacturing organisations

business interruption policies ineffective, and

occupied or undertake temporary works

where equipment is hard to move and to

organisations found themselves locked into

to offer protection in the case of a failure.

replace at short notice and organisations

tenancy agreements for premises that they

In 1997, the University of Berkeley in the

that deliver time-critical services may see

no longer wished to occupy.

for the foreseeable future?

their business wiped out if they dont plan

US acknowledged that many of its buildings

Any organisation that rents or leases

were earthquake-prone and likely to collapse

a building should ensure that there are

in a major earthquake. Facing a retrofit bill

However, organisations spread across

clauses in their agreement covering how

of up to US$1.2 billion, it developed a staged

several locations may be able to temporarily

the situation will be handled if the building

retrofit programme over 2030 years.

for such eventualities.

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Knowing that, in the interim, the university

should have a good appreciation and under-

change to the threshold level defined for an

would be occupying earthquake-prone build-

standing of the range of issues covered,

earthquake-prone building, the intention

ings, it decided to be open in talking about the

and you should brief them on your specific

to have all commercial and large residential

risks. At the start of each semester, they talked

context and needs.

buildings assessed within 5 years of the

to classes about earthquake preparedness,

For example, a structural engineer may

gave information about the risks of earthquake-

address %NBS or the design of a new building

prone buildings and answered questions.

as if the Building Code is the only require-

At the end of 2013, WorkSafe New Zealand

Importantly, Berkeley demonstrated it was

ment to be met. But the Building Code is not

sought to clarify health and safety require-

addressing the problem and has maintained

focused on a businesss priorities it is there

ments and earthquake-prone buildings by

staff and student engagement throughout.

to protect life safety and to minimise risk of

issuing a position statement for employers

If the University of Berkley can deal with

damage to adjacent properties. Buildings that

and owners on dealing with earthquake-

this situation in one of the most litigious

are equally Code compliant may perform

related hazards.

countries in the world, surely we can in New

completely differently in terms of business

Zealand. The key is to demonstrably work on

continuity objectives.

improving our resilience and not just leave

it as tomorrows problem.

Bills passage is putting the spotlight on the

performance of buildings in earthquakes.

This indicates that the Health and Safety

in Employment Act does not seek to impose

The brief an organisation gives to consult-

requirements for a buildings earthquake

ants should reflect this. If a building must

resilience at a higher standard than the

be operational after an earthquake, this

Building Act.

Dont simply rely on insurance

should be stated. It may not require that the

At a technical level, the New Zealand

One of the big gest lessons from the

building be designed for the same impor-

Society for Earthquake Engineering in

Canterbury earthquakes is that reliance on

tance level as an emergency facility, but it

conjunction with the Structural Engineering

insurance is not necessarily the right answer.

might lead to building form or materials

Society and New Zealand Geotechnical

While it helps that a lot of insurance payouts

being used that are more damage resistant.

Society will update their 2006 guidance

are flowing into the local economy, over time,

At the least, the cost impact of this should

document on assessing the seismic perfor-

the premium payments will balance this, and

be investigated.

mance of existing buildings.

Changes on several fronts

timber-framed buildings in 2013 by BRANZ

the same cover, terms and conditions may

not be available.

Destructive testing of 1- and 2-storey

A combination of mitigation of lower-level

Considering these issues in an organisations

for the Ministry of Education and Housing

risk and then using insurance as a top-up for

planning is timely in the current environment

New Zealand Corporation has clearly shown

disasters may be more cost-effective than

where changes are occurring in both regula-

these types of buildings have a much greater

simply insuring for every event.

tory and technical environments for buildings

resilience than indicated by traditional

and earthquakes.

engineering calculations.

Fully involve any consultants you use

On the regulatory side, the Building Act

For more

Visit www.resorgs.org.nz/Resources/

Any advisers engaged for engineering

(Earthquake-Prone Buildings) Amendment

resources-for-business.html, where the booklet

aspects or business continuity planning

Bill has been introduced. While there is no

Shut Happens is of particular interest.

Establish your
organisations timecritical and accessdependent operations.
Consider how you
would run a limited
operation if denied
access for a day/week/
month.

Establish the level

of performance
required from your
buildings beyond life
safety for example,
the time to restore
different levels of
functionality.

Have an engineering
and services review
of your building
undertaken to see
how well it is likely to
meet your performance
requirements.

Consider the
surrounding
environment
neighbouring
buildings, key access
routes, reliability of
infrastructure services
for different hazard
events.

Develop a business continuity

plan that reflects your current
situation and likely building and
services performance.

Plan mitigation actions for the

building appropriate to your
objectives and circumstances
(e.g. owner or tenant) and your
investment priorities.

Continue to integrate
resilience planning
into your business,
proactively evaluating
and responding to
changes as they
emerge.

Key actions for an organisation to assess their buildings resilience, and integrate this with business continuity management.
Note that the engineering stages (shaded) are only part of the comprehensive consideration of resilience.

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Resilience costs
As the focus turns to improving resilience, BRANZ has assessed the costs
of some common measures to make houses more resilient.
BY IAN PAGE, BRANZ MANAGER ECONOMICS

WE WANT BUILDINGS to be resilient, but

Wind resilience

Further details are available in BRANZ Study

what is resilience? On page 44, Suzanne

Recent wind events have highlighted that,

Report SR187 Retrofitting houses to resist

Wilkinson summarises resilience as the ability

in some regions, existing fixings are inad-

extreme wind events.

to absorb shocks the ability for a building to

equate for the damaging storms that are

Seismic resilience

recover its functionality quickly and continue

expected quite frequently. In particular,

Old-style heavy masonry chimneys can

operating even with partial failure.

lightweight roofs on houses built before

cause extensive damage to roofs in an

1999 in high and very high wind zones need

earthquake and should be demolished to

Improving existing housing

additional fixings. Table 1 shows the costs for:

increase resilience.

The costs to make an existing house more

resilient are typically those required to

bring it up to current Building Code requirements (see Table 1).

fixing the bottom two rows of purlins to

In many pre-1970 houses on timber or

the rafters or trusses

concrete piles, the lateral restraint and

increasing the fixings from rafter or truss

connection of the bearers to the piles is

to the top plates.

inadequate and can be improved.

Table 1

COMMON MEASURES TO MAKE EXISTING HOUSES MORE RESILIENT

HAZARD

COMPONENT

MITIGATION MEASURE

COST ($)

Wind

Truss roof

Install fasteners - purlins and top plate

1,400

Rafters

Install fasteners - purlins and top plate

2,200

Chimney

Demolish and replace with metal flue

8,000

Pile foundations

Fixings to bearers, cross bracing

8,000

0.5 m above floor level

Raise house at same location

23,000

1.5 m above floor level

Raise house at same location

30,000

Moisture

Internal moisture

Polythene ground sheet

1,500

Deterioration

Roof and wall cladding

Regular maintenance and painting every 10 years

7,000

Earthquake

Flooding

Note: Based on the costs for a typical house, approximately 150 m2, weatherboard with sheet metal roof.

54 Build 141 April/May 2014

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Flooding resilence

House repair priorities indicates many of

such as earthquakes, windstorms, floods

New housing is very unlikely to be on flood

these measures are likely to have a positive

and landslips, the life-safety risks from these

plains, but many older houses are. The costs

net benefit under reasonable assumptions.

hazards are covered.

and include pile bracing, access steps and

Measures for new housing

Functionality concerns

service connections.

BRANZ has done less work on costs and

However, the building may not be usable

Resilience to moisture

benefits of resilience measures for new

for an extended period due to secondary

A low-cost measure that improves the

housing, but these could include:

damage, so resilience needs to consider

internal environment for all suspended

for raising houses start at about $23,000

floor houses is to reduce entry of ground

above-Code insulation to reduce dependence of external energy sources

functionality.
Angela Liu (see page 56) discusses this

moisture by spreading polythene sheeting

using low-maintenance claddings

aspect for office buildings, where life safety

over the ground and taping it around the

installing lifetime design features that

is preserved but secondary damage to linings

make the house easier to use and more

causes loss of access during repairs and has

flexible for all age groups

major cost effects on businesses.

piles.
At the same time, installers need to ensure
water will not pond under the house.

Positive net benefit

Valuing the benefits of these measures is

designing for external loadbearing walls

BRANZ hopes to do more work in the

only so the interior can be readily changed

future on quantifying the benefits of these

as occupant needs change.

measures.

quite difficult because it depends on the

As new buildings are covered by the

return period of the various hazards.

Building Code and land zoning require-

downloaded for free from the BRANZ Shop at

Analysis in BRANZ Study Report SR285

ments to protect against natural hazards

www.branz.co.nz.

For more

BRANZ study reports can be

Build 141 April/May 2014 55

FEATURE
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Resilient buildings

Is it worth it?
A current BRANZ research project is studying the economic benefit
of designing buildings for increased resilience under seismic loading
throughout their entire life cycle.
BY ANGELA LIU, BRANZ SENIOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, GRAEME BEATTIE, BRANZ PRINCIPAL STRUCTURAL ENGINEER,
AND IAN PAGE, BRANZ MANAGER ECONOMICS

buildings did not collapse, presenting a life safety issue. They were
extensively damaged, however, and in many cases needed to be
demolished and rebuilt, causing significant and lengthy disruption
to business activities and normal daily living.
Damage was well beyond peoples expectations and resulted in a
considerable cost to the country.

Looking for the financial threshold

This research projects premise is that there will be a financial
threshold at which the increase in the initial construction cost for
a building will be balanced by the economic benefits over the entire
building life cycle.
The current Building Code is performance-based with the aim of
ensuring life safety. From an economic standpoint, information on
the investment versus financial benefit relationship is urgently needed
by all stakeholders to assist decision-making for targeted building
BUILDINGS ARE CENTRAL to peoples lives, and their continuous

performance. It will also be essential for consideration during future

function after a destructive event is a major challenge to the resil-

changes to the Building Act and Building Code.

ience of a city or even a country.

Different building types and lateral seismic resistance

Buildings saved lives but at a cost

This project considers the relationship between cost and benefit

It was not until the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 that

for typical building types.

people understood the importance of buildings continuing to

function after a catastrophic seismic event.

Additionally, it will also look at the variations in the inherent resilience

of different lateral seismic resisting systems. Potentially, different lateral

One lesson from the earthquakes was that there is a significant gap

seismic resisting systems could have very different earthquake resilience

between the performance criteria in the New Zealand Building Code and

levels, and the determination of the seismic design level for a certain

general societal expectations for building performance in earthquakes.

type of building is the result of a risk versus economic consideration.

Most modern designed buildings in the Christchurch CBD achieved

Resilience of buildings to earthquake events is being studied

the Code-specified performance criteria at ultimate limit state the

separately for different lateral load resisting systems. A small sample

56 Build 141 April/May 2014

of model buildings is being designed for each system and will be

subjected to different earthquake intensities. A wide-ranging costbenefit study will be carried out for the buildings entire life cycle to
investigate whether higher performance is likely to be economically
justified.

Indirect and direct costs studied

The economic study includes both the direct and indirect costs from
earthquake events, including aspects such as business interruption.
A comparison of the inherited resilience of different structural
systems to earthquakes is being carried out in order to better inform
stakeholders decision-making on the structural design.

First up reinforced concrete frames

The first stage of the project is well under way and has focused on
reinforced concrete-frame structures. The subsequent stages of the
research will focus on other structural types and a comparative study
of the seismic performance of different structural types.
Two identical reinforced concrete-frame buildings were designed
and analysed, with different lateral seismic load resisting systems.
They were designed to the same current seismic design standards but
using different ductility assumptions. As a consequence, the lateral
load resisting systems of the two were different.

Findings raise issue with regulations

Structural analyses carried out so far have concluded that reinforced
concrete-frame buildings designed to the same current seismic
design standards would be expected to sustain different damage
levels, and therefore different economic consequences, in the
same design earthquake event if different ductility assumptions
were made.
The study suggests that building structures of different structural
systems would potentially be expected to achieve very different
performance levels for the same design earthquake. This implies a
very different economic scenario, especially over the life cycle of a
building.
This is contrary to the principles used in developing the current
building regulations. In these, buildings designed according to the
current design standards are meant to achieve the same minimum
building performance levels, regardless of the structural types and
design assumptions.

Study outcome to better inform all

This project runs until late 2015 and expects to better inform owners,
engineering practitioners, banks and insurance companies and the
building regulation policy-makers about the balance that needs to
be struck between acceptable levels of risk and the costs of mitigation and resilience.

Build 141 April/May 2014 57

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Seismic technology

showcase

New seismic-resistant building design developed in New Zealand and

worldwide over the last decade is at the forefront of the Christchurch
rebuild, as these case studies illustrate.
BY PHIL STEWART, FREELANCE WRITER, TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING WRITING, AUCKLAND

country in the last 3 years and is now having

a major impact on Christchurch construction.

Kilmore Street Medical Centre three

world firsts
Construction of the $40 million Kilmore
Street Medical Centre includes three world
firsts in seismic-resistant design.
It features the first ever application of steel
PRESSS technology in a building. This strucKilmore Street Medical Centre three world firsts in seismic design.

tural system dissipates earthquake forces

without residual building deformation.
The PRESSS (PREcast Seismic Structural

THE CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKES

the painful social and economic effects of

System) element consists of steel-braced

revealed a widespread desire that buildings

having almost an entire CBD of buildings

frames that are free to rock laterally during

should not only survive a big shake, they

still standing but unusable or unable to be

an earthquake before tensioning in the

should also remain free of major damage

repaired.

bracing pulls the frames back into place

and be functional immediately after.

Seismic-resistant design places a primary

when the shaking stops.

Until recently, the accepted seismic

focus on keeping buildings damage-free and

The system was developed initially for use

design of buildings focused on preserving

usable, not just staying upright. It has been

in reinforced concrete frames, but research

life. However, Christchurch has discovered

applied to a handful of buildings across the

shows it is viable for steel too.

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Resilient buildings

The building also features the worlds only

shaft with a bulge in it that is surrounded

use of two energy dissipation units in a single

by lead. As the building moves in an earth-

St Elmo Courts expanding the use of

base isolation

building. These units act like expendable

quake, the shaft is pushed up and down,

This 6-storey building will be the first office

fuses they absorb the massive energy that

causing the lead to flow around the bulge.

building in Christchurch to employ base

is directed into them. They may be damaged

This dissipates huge amounts of energy.

isolators in the foundations to dissipate

or destroyed, but there is no impact on the

These technologies make Kilmore Street an

earthquake energy. It is also designed to

ambitious build, requiring special detailing at

behave elastically meaning no residual

One of the fuse types is steel fuse rods

joints and engineering input for temporary

d a m a ge i n a 1 0 0 % B u i l d i n g C o d e

located in between the PRESSS steel-braced

works during construction. Its a lot to pack

earthquake.

frames, coupling them together. These

into a 3-storey building.

building.

Base isolation reduces the forces put on

rods consist of a mild steel round bar that

However, the clients aim was clear. They

a building by partially isolating it from the

is designed to yield in axial tension and

wanted a building that would remain fully

shaking ground. The buildings foundations

compression to dissipate energy.

operational in the immediate aftermath

are placed on multiple energy-absorbing

The other represents another world first

of any earthquakes as big as those in 2011

bearings that shake and absorb much of the

a lead extrusion device developed at the

and 2012. The result is a building 80% more

grounds movement, meaning the structure

University of Canterbury that has never been

seismically resistant than Building Code

above receives lower forces. The technology

used before. This takes the form of a steel

requirements.

has been in worldwide use for over three

Steel fuse rods installed in between steel-braced frames with lead extrusion dampers at base Kilmore Street Medical Centre.

60 Build 141 April/May 2014

decades and was pioneered in New Zealand

through the use of lead-rubber bearings.

5153 Victoria Street base-isolated

lightweight steel frame

Interestingly, building owners the Owens

A new 3-storey building at 5153 Victoria Street

Family say that, at $150,000, the 16 base

will receive advanced base isolation and a

isolators are less expensive than the build-

relatively lightweight steel structural frame.

ings sprinkler system.

Instead of conventional lead-rubber base

The building also features a mix of concrete

isolators, designers have chosen double

and timber for its structural frame. The

concave slider bearings, where a puck sits

columns are made from precast concrete,

between concave top and bottom stainless

and the beams are hollow laminated veneer

steel-lined plates. Under shaking, the plates

lumber (LVL) timber members, a combina-

and puck slide sideways across each other

tion that is new to the industry.

a distance of up to 40 cm, with the massive

The timber beams are post-tensioned

with horizontal steel cables that provide

friction between them acting as an energy

release for the buildings frame.

strength to pull the beams back into line after

Further adding to seismic resistance, the

a major shake. The cable ends are attached to

buildings steel framework will be inherently

shock-absorbing steel components that can

lighter than an equivalent concrete structure.

double as energy-dissipating fuses in major

The lighter building weight generally means

earthquakes. These seismic-resisting timber

reduced forces are generated during an

solutions were developed at the University

earthquake, making the job of force resist-

of Canterbury by the Structural Innovation

ance easier for the buildings frame.

and development group. St Elmo Courts will

Leighs Construction headquarters

novel foundation solution

be the countrys tallest building containing

The new Leighs Construction headquarters

STIC-developed technology.

in central Christchurch will be built to

Zealand and Australian universities research

Base-isolated lightweight steel frame building 53 Victoria Street, Christchurch.

THOM CRAIG ARCHITECTS.

Timber Company (STIC) a BRANZ, New

Build 141 April/May 2014 61

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Resilient buildings

188% Building Code strength, meeting the

focus on managing damage to foundations

slab that provides high rigidity and strength

standard normally applied to essential

and floor slabs.

even in expansive soils. It represents a big

structures such as hospitals.

The 8,100 m2 complex of terrace houses

step forward from the conventional use of

At its Manchester Street location, earth-

and low-rise apartments will be built by an

polystyrene blocks to form slabs, providing

quake damage to the soils created a big

alliance that includes local Holloway Builders

a slab that is lighter and stronger and has

difference in soil strength at each end of the

and Italian engineering firm Cresco. Cresco

under-slab ventilation voids built-in.

site. This meant that foundation depth and

are bringing technologies known as Seismat

Importantly, Armadillo formwork addresses

strength requirements were vastly different

and Armadillo to the project and to New

the problem of concrete slabs settling and

from one side of the building to the other.

Zealand for the first time.

tilting during and after earthquakes. The

Extensive ground testing to 24 m deep

Seismat is a passive load transfer device

system allows fast relevel of the foundation

was followed by an open-minded search

that provides an alternative to base isolators

because, with greater slab strength, only the

for the ideal piling type. To best suit the soil

for dissipating energy. A section of Seismat

perimeter of the slab needs to be jacked up

conditions, high-pressure grout piles were

is placed between two concrete slabs or

after settlement there is sufficient inherent

selected, and 160 of these were installed.

column sections and its near-frictionless

strength for the centre of the slab to rise

This piling technique involves auguring

properties mean that the two members can

without internal jacking.

into the ground combined with injection of

move laterally and dissipate large amounts

Pres-Lam construction technology, devel-

high-pressure binders that spread into the

of energy harmlessly. A piece of Seismat

oped at the University of Canterbury, is also

soil. The binders mix with soil particles to

contains four layers two panels of Teflon

being considered in the project to increase

create a stronger and more solid soil mass.

and air sandwiched between two thin HDPE

seismic resistance. Pres-Lam takes PRESSS

This pile type is normally used for highway

mesh external sheets.

thinking and applies it to timber buildings

stabilising, and its application represents a

first for Christchurch buildings.

Armadillo is a concrete floor slab form-

structures are designed to flex and rock at

work that uses recycled high-strength

their joints to dissipate energy and then be

cardboard units to create a voided biaxial

pulled back into place by steel tendons.

Breathe New Urban Village new slab

and foundation technology
A 72-dwelling development opposite
Latimer Square that won the Breathe
New Urban Village design competition will feature two new
seismic-resistant
technolo gies
that

Urban village new technology for foundations and slabs.

62 Build 141 April/May 2014

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Resilient buildings

Five drivers
Buildings with insufficient seismic strength are key contributors to deaths
and building losses. Better information is needed for owners and potential
buyers on a propertys seismic risk, a research programme finds.
BY TEMITOPE EGBELAKIN AND PROFESSOR SUZANNE WILKINSON, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

THE CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKES Royal

Currently, these appraisals are not in

Commission reported that the magnitude of

property valuation reports unless requested.

building collapses from the earthquakes is

Property professionals generally include a

evidence that owners of earthquake-prone

disclaimer on any related seismic risks in

buildings are not adopting appropriate

their valuation report, reducing the scope and

risk-mitigation measures in their buildings.

rights that may be exercised should litigation

Cost, risk perception and the effectiveness

ensue.

of mitigation measures have been identified as

As one research respondent said, Most

factors influencing property owners seismic

times when making real estate investment

retrofit decisions.

decisions, we assume risk from rare disaster

events such as earthquake is negligible

Retrofitting could be encouraged

Research at the University of Auckland and

If valuation and property standards

Massey University identified five ways to

mandate the inclusion of seismic risks in a

encourage retrofitting:

valuation report, the relative importance can

64 Build 141 April/May 2014

PHOTO COURTESY OF SNPA PAM JOHNSON.

The severely damaged CTV building.

compared to other market risks.

Seismic risk appraisal in property valua-

be attached to seismic risks in investment

tion assessment.

decisions.

Provision of a unified seismic risk information system.

2. Sharing information

Mandatory disclosure of seismic risk infor-

A seismic risk information system could

mation in property market transactions.

encourage improved seismic retrofitting.

Accuracy in earthquake risk assessments

The importance of this information has been

with low-cost engineered solutions.

confirmed in previous studies, and evidence

A risk-based insurance premium system.

from Christchurch shows the effect on earthquake vulnerability when it is lacking.

1. Seismic risk appraisal

The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal

Seismic risk appraisal in property valua-

C ommi ssion recommended that the

tions is an important enabler for increasing

Christchurch City Council consider compiling

seismic retrofits.

and making available a public database of all

Resilient buildings

FEATURE
SECTION

bore logs previously recorded in the CBD, in

If owners and property retailers are

addition to those made for future buildings.

obliged to disclose a buildings seismic risk

A unified system would help property

to prospective buyers or tenants at the point

market stakeholders access a buildings

of sale or lease, building occupants would

seismic risk data. This information could

demand buildings that ensure their safety.

influence the price-setting and valuation

Accurate risk information to buyers, insurers

Once accurate risk assessment has been

process of individual property transactions,

and lenders would result in an informed

made, reliable low-cost engineered solu-

enabling informed investment decisions to

property market and possibly force down the

tions could be further developed and

be made.

property value of non-retrofitted earthquake-

implemented.

insurers are helped in setting accurate

premiums

information irregularities bet ween

insurers, reinsurers and financial institutions are reduced.

prone buildings.

3. Mandatory disclosure

Building owners are likely to increase

5. Risk-based insurance premiums

Mandatory disclosure of risks would increase

investments in seismic retrofitting if they

While risk zones play an important part

the extent to which people are aware of

perceive a potential loss of revenue or tenants.

in insurance premium estimations, there

seismic risks in the market, allowing them

to make appropriate property investment
decisions.

appears to be a lack of importance placed

4. Accurate earthquake risk assessments

and low-cost engineered solutions

on these by insurers and reinsurers.

Generally, insurance premiums are not

One comment was, It is difficult for all

The Canterbury earthquakes showed the

calculated in terms of risk-based analysis,

market stakeholders to know the issues

importance of accurate earthquake risk

leading to high premiums, even for buildings

around seismic risks unless the law mandates

assessment in earthquake risk mitigation.

that have been retrofitted to high seismic

that it must be disclosed. Most owners and

Often they are based on rough estimates

performance standards.

real estate agents will prefer to be silent

and probability of earthquake occurrence

on such issues because it will affect their

and can be inaccurate.

business transactions.

The challenge is for earthquake hazard

Insurance premiums should reflect risk

and take into account mitigation actions
undertaken on the building.

Findings after the Canterbury earthquakes

mitigation professionals to develop reliable

Where buildings are retrofitted well

showed that the owner of the CTV building

methods of estimating seismic risks, as most

beyond minimum requirements, the owners

was unaware of the buildings seismic risks

seismic mitigation decisions are based on the

should be rewarded with premium discounts.

at the time of purchase. If the owner had

outcome of the assessed risks.

Research suggests that combining earth-

been aware of the buildings vulnerability,

the cost of retrofitting could have possibly

The benefits of improved risk assessment are:

quake insurance with compliance to seismic

enhanced risk estimation and the adop-

retrofitting of earthquake-prone buildings

been factored into the investment decision

tion of adequate mitigation measures in

will encourage owners to adopt mitigation

and retrofitting work undertaken.

retrofitted earthquake-prone buildings

measures.

Build 141 April/May 2014 65

FEATURE
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Resilient buildings

Hazardous
work
BRANZ is working with an Australian organisation on a building
resilience project. Its outcome will be a rating tool that ranks building
materials resilience on a scale of 15.
BY MARK JONES, BRANZ BUILDING PERFORMANCE MANAGER

significant economic losses, unsurprising

given that the Canterbury earthquakes were
among the most significant natural disaster
events in the world.

Flooding surrounding houses in Lower Hutt, near Wellington.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NIWA ALAN BLACKLOCK.

However, considering the annual occurrences of different types of natural hazard

events worldwide, floods and storms
outweigh other events. This is important
when focusing on the wider community
impacts rather than just the economic losses.
Figure 1 provides a breakdown of natural
hazard losses with the recent Canterbury
earthquakes removed, providing a representative history of losses.

THE RECENT FLOODS and storms in the UK

New Zealand is particularly susceptible to a

have been a stark reminder of the devas-

range of natural hazards and extreme events.

Australian Building Resilience Rating

Tool

tating effects that natural hazards can have

on our homes, towns and communities.

In recent years, the country has expe-

Similar assessments of insurance losses in

rienced a number of these, resulting in

Australia shows that cyclones, storm and

increasing costs to the building industry,

flood damage have had a devastating effect

New Zealands vulnerability

homeowners, councils, government and the

on the country (see Figure 2).

As an island nation on the boundary of the

insurance industry.

Because of the increased frequency and

Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates

Although earthquakes are relatively low-

destructive effects of hazard events, the

and lying in the roaring forties wind system,

frequency events, they account for the most

Insurance Council of Australia identified the

66 Build 141 April/May 2014

FEATURE
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Resilient buildings

Cyclone
4%

Tornado
2%

Uncategorised
2%
Hail
18%

Inundation
and storms
58%

Storm/high wind
35%

Earthquake
20%

Cyclone
13%

Flood
37%
Figure 1: Insurance losses from natural hazards in New Zealand 19682012.
(Excludes the Canterbury earthquakes.)

Bushfire
11%
Figure 2: Insurance losses from natural disasters in Australia 19672013.

need to improve the resilience of Australian

will also form a key part in the development

of the impact of incorporating resilient

residential properties against natural

of a similar rating tool within New Zealand.

materials and design in New Zealands

weather hazards.

dwellings as well as a better understanding

BRANZs resilience testing

of the effects of extreme weather events on

Environment formed the Australian Resilience

The resilience testing regime involves

materials and buildings.

Taskforce to develop the Building Resilience

testing produc ts under standardised

This will also provide further information

Rating Tool for residential properties. The aim

conditions to different hazard exposures,

on the cost-benefit of different amenity and

is to generate a resilience score for individual

underpinning a 15 qualitative rating scale.

materials choices, options for mitigation

houses, taking into account the hazard profile,

Work to date at BRANZs resilience test

strategies on existing houses and the benefits

location of the house, section details, house

facility has focused on the durability and

type and the individual building materials

resilience of materials subjected to inunda-

used in construction (Figure 3).

tion and storm conditions. This includes

and knowledge database can be found at www.

examining the retention of key properties for

buildingresilience.org.au.

As part of this, the Council and Edge

Building Resilience Knowledge Database

a variety of generic timber, fibre-cement and

BRANZ has recently been working with the

reconstituted wood-based flooring materials.

Australian Resilience Taskforce in devel-

Property recovery as a function of drying

oping a Building Resilience Knowledge

time has been monitored, with work

Database a resilience evaluation database

continuing on the immersion resistance of

and framework for building materials and

structural wall and wall lining components.

products that is based on product testing

Further testing methodologies assessing

and evaluation as well as existing data

other hazards will be adopted in the future.

sources assessing the resilience of products

and systems.

of house maintenance.
For more

Further information on the rating tool

Test results typically relate to the extent of

failure severity and, where available, will be

The Building Resilience Knowledge

translated into 15 ratings and incorporated

Database, which will provide a repository

into the database, under generic materials.

of information to support the Building

The higher the rating, the higher the resil-

Resilience Rating Tool, complements

ience of that material or component to a

BRANZs previous research on durability

specific hazard.

assessment, verification and service life

assessments.

Greater understanding provides benefits

As many of the hazards are similar in both

Successful implementation of the rating

countries, the materials resilience information

tools will enable a greater understanding

Figure 3: Building Resilience Rating Tool hazard profile.

Build 141 April/May 2014 67