Engineers say some Wellington buildings need targeted checks in the interests of public safety. New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) President Peter Smith says that after completing hundreds of rapid assessments, engineers have developed a profile of Wellington buildings that suffered the most damage in the Kaikoura earthquake or are susceptible to a similar future event. “The Council is being proactive in requiring all buildings fitting this profile to have targeted evaluations. We fully support the measures that the Council is taking.” “The buildings that need targeted evaluation share key characteristics. These include being medium height and having concrete…

New Zealand is into its fifth straight year of strong growth in construction, with more than 30,000 homes consented in the year to October and record levels of commercial and infrastructure investment, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says. “Residential construction activity has reached $12.5 billion, an all-time high, and the number of homes consented has topped 30,000. This is the longest and strongest residential construction boom in New Zealand history, with five straight years of growth averaging over 20 per cent per annum. This is as fast as you can practically grow a sector as large and as…

Statistics New Zealand data shows that building consent are at a 10 year high, even when there is still a shortage of housing. The construction sector is struggling to produce the skills needed to meet demand. Building consents are at their highest in more than 10 years, but with the industry coming off such a low base, capacity is still a key issue. Building consent data released today by Statistics New Zealand shows that to the end of October 24,789 new homes gained building consents this calendar year and 30,158 over the past 12 months. This is the highest number…

Auckland's skyline will get a touch of Manhattan when its first major structural steel-framed high-rise commercial tower rises on the ex-Downtown site.Instead of the block-like construction technique Aucklanders are used to, giant steel beams will be trucked into the city, then bolted and welded together using the same techniques which created many of the buildings on New York's skyline.Scott Pritchard, chief executive of Precinct Properties which is developing the 39-level 100-shop Auckland waterfront block, said construction materials and techniques to be used would be unique but also necessary to protect Auckland Transport's new City Rail Link tunnels from the gigantic…

Melbourne, Australia, Dec 13, 2016 - (ABN Newswire) - Aconex Limited (ASX:ACX), provider of the #1 platform connecting teams on the world's largest construction and engineering projects, today announced a three-year enterprise agreement with Fletcher Building Limited (NZE:FBU) (ASX:FBU), one of the largest tier-one main contractors in New Zealand. Under the agreement, Fletcher will standardise on Aconex solutions across all construction business divisions, which includes Fletcher Building and Interiors, Fletcher Construction, Fletcher Infrastructure, and Fletcher Living. Aconex will also be the preferred solution for Fletcher South Pacific and Higgins Contracting. The enterprise-wide engagement with Fletcher Building expands a prior agreement…

An international construction conference being held in Auckland early next year will showcase leading edge technology, construction innovation, practices and methods that have the potential to transform the sector and improve our built environment. The ‘Constructing our World - People, Performance, Purpose’ conference will take place from 22-24 March 2017 and is being hosted by the New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Building (AIB) and the Singapore Institute of Building (SIBL). Subsequent international construction conferences will occur in Australia in 2019 and Singapore in 2021. NZIOB chief executive Malcolm Fleming said, “There is…

Companies are increasingly looking for circular-economy approaches to design — and use — durable products that can be reused or recycled at end of life. Noble Environmental Technologies says its technology is helping customers do just that: recycle their waste streams into new building materials for reuse. And the company says it can partner with virtually any business to help it close the loop while reduce its manufacturing costs and waste produced, reports Environmental Leader. Starbucks, for example, could recycle coffee grounds and commercial waste and convert it into materials used to build stores, furniture and packaging, the company says.…

A new development for the New Zealand building and construction industry, Fletcher Aluminium and NALCO have combined to form a joint venture that leverages their scale, market coverage, product innovation and reliability - the new company will now be known as Altus. Their position will also make them a more attractive supplier in many of the industrial sectors they service. So boat builders, engineers or any business that requires aluminum solutions can look to Altus to have the expertise and capacity to meet all requirements. Bigger, better, more innovative and more consistent - the word Altus has deep rooted origins…

| Wellington, Nov 23, 2016 |  - Advice to the building industry on restraining ceilings, ducting and other non-structural elements will improve the safety and resilience of commercial buildings during earthquakes, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) today released two practice advisories to the building sector on non-structural elements and secondary structural elements in commercial buildings. “Structural failures in buildings pose the greatest risk to people’s lives but elements such as ceiling panels and ducting can injure people and cause death. These failures are a major component of the post-earthquake…

| IPENZ - 18 Nov 16 |  Engineers are finding unusual effects from the Kaikoura earthquake in that low rise buildings suffered minimal damage while medium rise buildings suffered significant damage. New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) President Peter Smith says there was an extraordinarily large release of energy much closer to Wellington than initially realised. The shaking lasted 90 seconds, compared to 20 seconds for the February 2011 Christchurch event. Mr Smith says how buildings respond in an earthquake depends on their height, stiffness and the nature of the ground they are on. “At this stage in Wellington,…

Were the modern earthquake-prone Wellington buildings due to relaxed Standards post- MOW? MSCNewsWire articles published prior to 14 Nov earthquake#4 | 2 Nov 16 |   Ministry of Works Dissolution started Leaky Buildings & Earthquake Vulnerability #3 | 26 Oct 16 | Ministry of Works Wellington Motorway Swathe Sowed Anti Big Engineering Project Whirlwind#2 | 24 Oct 16 | Ministry of Works had clear cut lines of Civil Engineering Responsibility#1 | 21 Oct 16 | Department was Repository of Exceptional Engineering Technical Ability & Management Introduce quake star ratings for buildings - engineer Structural engineers working hard to assess and analyse…