The Star: May 23, 2019

The Star Thursday May 23 2019
6
NEWS
news online at www.star.kiwi
High St building flawed – engineers
A NEW OFFICE building in
the central city’s main shopping
precinct has many serious
flaws in its earthquake design
according to three leading
engineering companies –
including one in a Governmentcommissioned
report.
Construction of the sevenstorey
building at 230 High St
carried on even after
the city council was first
warned in December
2017 by engineering
firm Aurecon of its
concerns about “the adequacy
of the design of
the primary structural
framing,” according to
damaged or demolished in the
February 22, 2011, quake.
It was meant to be the
headquarters for a property
development group, Rockwell,
with a cafe on the ground floor.
But it sits empty.
The city council had approved
the structural design, which was
also okayed by Miyamoto International
NZ, a US-New
Zealand engineering
firm based in Wellington.
But after Aurecon
blew the whistle, the
city council then called
in Holmes Consulting
for another opinion.
Mr Joo told RNZ the building
was safe, would perform in an
earthquake and was compliant.
The other engineers had not
made a detailed assessment, he
said.
“They reviewed and they assessed
in very short time.”
The other three firms had
approached the design as if it
was for a non-ductile (nonflexible)
building, while he
designed it as a ductile (flexible)
building.
“So that is totally different
concept,” said Mr Joo. “Different
concepts result in different
outcomes.”
He is a chartered professional
a report leaked to Radio
Holmes also faulted the
engineer, and has been a
New Zealand.
Leonie Rae building.
registered engineer since 2008.
The leaked report
– from engineering firm Beca
to the Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment –
The engineer who
designed it, Joo Hyun Cho
of Seismotech Consulting in
Christchurch, told RNZ it was all
He had not been paid yet for
all his work on 230 High St while
the building’s owner waited for
the MBIE Determination, Mr Joo
said the narrow, glass-fronted a matter of a difference of engineering
opinion.
REPORT: Concerns have been raised over this building at He had helped design “five or
said.
block at 230 High St has:
•Piles that are about 10 times “I’m still happy with my design,”
Mr Joo said.
of consenting and compliance Beca told MBIE that out of the including in Tauranga and New
230 High St (middle).
six” other multi-storey buildings,
too weak
•A support column that is overloaded
by five times
its senior structural engineer had A final Building Code
have concluded that seven do not other companies before going out
The city council told RNZ said Leonie Rae, in a statement. 11 issues raised by Aurecon, “we Plymouth, while working for
•Steel frame fixings that are not reviewed all reports about the compliance certificate has not comply.”
on his own in 2016.
strong enough
building, including Beca’s, and been issued.
Beca added three additional He had had no problems before
•Inadequate foundations was “satisfied that this is not a MBIE is now considering concerns, and stated: “In our and was surprised at what was
The report also said calculations
underestimated the earth-
building.”
issue a final ruling, called a not demonstrate the building Rockwell director Hyang Kim
dangerous or earthquake-prone Beca’s report. It has to
view the design calculations do happening.
quake loading by 25 per cent. “Naturally, given events in the Determination. This will then foundations comply” with the basic
standard, known as B1/VM1, from RNZ; nor did the main
did not respond to an approach
Construction of the office block city over the past nine years, public
safety is of paramount impor-
on what to do next.
for meeting seismic performance contractor at 230 High St, DW
pass the ball back to the council
largely finished last year, in an
area where many buildings were tance,” said city council manager MBIE has not yet commented. requirements.
Construction.
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