A Snapshot of Societal Expectations for the Seismic Performance of Buildings in New Zealand – What This Reveals about Future Design Considerations for Non-Structural Elements

Abstract

New Zealand has just experienced its most sustained period of disruption caused by earthquakes since the mid-20th century. The impact of the recent earthquakes has been widely observed and commented upon by stakeholders, policy makers and the general public. The recent events caused extensive structural and non-structural damage with wide ranging social, economic and environmental impacts.

Structural engineers in New Zealand (NZ) historically have designed buildings to meet life safety objectives during and following earthquakes but there has been limited regard to usability following such events. This approach has been effective in reducing loss of life – fulfilling a core objective of the current NZ building code, but questions have arisen whether the observed levels of damage and disruption warrant a rethink of seismic performance objectives. Research to explore societal expectations and tolerance toward seismic risk has been completed as part of a programme of work to inform future performance objectives for the design of new buildings. The findings reveal the importance to NZ communities of restoring building functions following an earthquake, and therefore highlight the performance of non-structural elements as a key determinant of outcomes.