Experts appointed to assist investigation

  • Maurice Williamson
Building and Construction

Experts appointed to assist investigation

Leading New Zealand engineering companies will assist the Department of Building and Housing with the technical investigation into the performance of the Canterbury Television, Pyne Gould Corporation, Forsyth Barr and Hotel Grand Chancellor buildings, Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said today.

The companies are Beca Consultants; Dunning Thornton Ltd; StructureSmith; and Hyland Fatigue and Earthquake Engineering.

The Department has also appointed a panel of experts, chaired by construction law expert Mr Sherwyn Williams, which will provide guidance on the methodology of the investigations and peer review the findings. 

Members of  the panel include:

  • Professor Nigel Priestley, former Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of California.
  • Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin, a Structural Engineer
  • Dr Helen Anderson, a seismologist
  • Mr Peter Millar, a leading geotechnical engineer
  • Mr Marshall Cook, past Adjunct Professor of Design at Unitec
  • Mr Peter Fehl, who has extensive expertise in the construction industry
  • Mr George Skimming, Director Special Projects at Wellington City Council
  • Structural engineers Mr Adam Thornton of Dunning Thornton Ltd, Mr Rob Jury of Beca Consultants and Dr Clark Hyland of Hyland Fatigue and Earthquake Engineering

“The investigation is underway and is expected to be completed by 31 July 2011,” Mr Williamson said.  “However, it is important to get this right rather than simply on time.  It may be that more time is needed to undertake the work properly.” 

“The investigation will establish and report on: the original design and construction of the buildings; the impact of any alterations; how the buildings

performed in the 4 September 2010 earthquake and the aftershocks; what assessments of the buildings’ stability/safety were made; and why the buildings collapsed or suffered serious damage on 22 February 2011.”

The Department is inviting members of the public to supply photographs, video recordings, and first-hand accounts of the state or performance of each building prior to, during, and after 22 February 2011.

Contact details for members of the public, for their material or information relevant to the investigations:

Members of the public with material or information relevant to the investigations should call 0800 242 243

or email chchinvestigations@dbh.govt.nz

Material can be posted to:

Building Investigation

The Department of Building and Housing

PO Box10729

Wellington6143

Attention: David Kelly, Deputy Chief Executive Building Quality.

Biographies of panel members:

  • Mr Sherwyn Williams (Chair)

Sherwyn Williams has specialised in construction law for over 30 years, mainly in the areas of claims and dispute resolution. He is a member of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute's panel of arbitrators and a member of Building Disputes Tribunal’s panel of principal adjudicators. Mr Williams is the current President of the Society of Construction Law New Zealand.

  • Professor Nigel Priestley (Deputy Chair)

Professor Priestley is an eminent Christchurch-based structural engineer.  He has a PhD in Structural Engineering, is a former Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of California, has extensive international consulting experience, and his work has been recognised with appointments and awards in Italy, United States, Argentina, Switzerland and New Zealand.  Professor Priestley has published three books on seismic design.

  • Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin

Associate Professor Pampanin is based at the College of Engineering at Canterbury University.  He specialises in Structural and Seismic Design and is a member of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, and is on the international faculty of the Reduction on the Seismic Risk (ROSE) School in Italy.  Associate Professor Pampanin has been the recipient of earthquake engineering awards and has published numerous books and articles on earthquake engineering.

  • Dr Helen Anderson

Until recently, Dr Anderson was the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Research, Science & Technology (MoRST), and was the Chief Scientific Adviser for more than five years prior to that appointment.  She is an expert in seismology, in particular the mechanics of large earthquakes and has a PhD in Geophysics from the University of Cambridge. 

  • Mr Peter Millar

Peter Millar is a leading geotechnical engineer, and is currently the Managing Director of Tonkin and Taylor (New Zealand’s leading geotechnical consultancy, which provided services to the Earthquake Commission on liquefaction following the earthquake on 4 September 2010).  He will bring to the panel expertise in geotechnical issues and foundation design.

  • Mr Peter Fehl

Peter Fehl has spent most of his working life involved with the construction industry.  The earlier years were spent working for major contractors, as well as for his own company, on civil engineering and commercial construction projects, in various site and managementpositions. Mr Fehl will bring to the panel expertise in the practises of the construction industry at the time these buildings were constructed. 

  • Mr George Skimming

George Skimming is currently the Director Special Projects at Wellington City Council.  He will bring to the panel expertise in the consenting practices at the time these buildings were constructed. 

  •  Mr Marshall Cook

Marshall Cook is a leading New Zealand architect with 40 years of experience in design and construction.  He has worked on commercial projects throughout New Zealand and also in Japan, North America, Thailand and the Pacific Islands; educational and residential buildings; as well as large scale urban design projects.  Marshall Cook is a past Adjunct Professor of Design at Unitec.  In 2010 he was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal in Architecture.

  • Mr Adam Thornton, Mr Rob Jury and Dr Clark Hyland

All three are leading the detailed investigations of the specified buildings. This places them in an ideal position to not only participate in a collaborative peer review of each of the other investigations, but to provide an in-depth understanding of a wide range of factors and issues identified in their particular investigations.

Contact details for members of the public, with material or information relevant to the investigations:

Free phone number:           0800 242 243

Email address:                     chchinvestigations@dbh.govt.nz
Mailing address:                   Building Investigation, The Department of Building and Housing, PO Box 10729, Wellington6143, marked for the attention of David Kelly.

Technical Investigation into the Performance of Buildings in the Christchurch CBD in the 22 February Christchurch Aftershock

Terms of Reference

The Canterbury region suffered a severe earthquake on 4 September 2010 and an aftershock on Boxing Day.  This was followed by another, more damaging aftershock on 22 February 2011. The magnitude 6.3 aftershock on 22 February 2011 caused significant damage to Christchurch, particularly the CBD, eastern, and southern suburbs, the Port Hills, and Lyttelton.

The high intensity of ground shaking led to a number of collapsed or seriously damaged buildings and a large number of people killed or seriously injured.  It is important for New Zealanders that the reasons for the damage to buildings generally in the CBD, and to some particular buildings, are definitively established.

Matters for investigation

The buildings specified for detailed analysis include the: Pyne Gould Corporation; CTV; Forsyth Barr and Hotel Grand Chancellor buildings.  Others may be specified for detailed analysis as information comes to hand during the investigation.

The purpose of this technical investigation into the performance of buildings in the Christchurch CBD during the 22 February aftershock, is to establish and report on:

  • the original design and construction of the buildings;
  • the impact of any alterations to the buildings;
  • how the buildings performed in the 4 September 2010 earthquake, and the Boxing Day aftershock,  in particular the impact on the buildings;
  • what assessments, including the issuing of green stickers and any further structural assessments, were made about the buildings’ stability/safety following the 4 September 2010 earthquake, and the Boxing Day aftershock; and
  • why these buildings collapsed or suffered serious damage.

The investigation will take into consideration:

  • the design codes, construction methods, and building controls in force at the time the buildings were designed and constructed and changes over time as they applied to these buildings;
  • knowledge that a competent structural / geotechnical engineer could reasonably be expected to have of the seismic hazard and ground conditions when these buildings were designed;
  • changes over time to knowledge in these areas; and
  • any policies or requirements of any agency to upgrade the structural performance of the buildings.

The investigation will use records of building design and construction, and will also obtain and invite evidence in the form of photographs, video recordings and first-hand accounts of the state or the performance, of the buildings prior to, during, and after the 22 February 2011 aftershock.

Matters outside the scope of the investigation

The investigation and report is to establish, where possible, the cause or causes of building failures.   It is not intended to address issues of culpability or liability arising from the collapse of the building.   These matters are outside the scope of the investigation.

Report required

The Department will prepare a detailed written report, setting out the conclusions drawn from this investigation about the matters referred to in the above section by 31 July 2011.