Seismic Engineering


Since the very damaging Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, there has been a consequential shift in many of the Territorial Authorities’ position in regard to their respective earthquake and dangerous building policies.

The implementation of an active earthquake or dangerous building policy is that owners of commercial or industrial buildings, including apartment buildings, that are evaluated as being less than 34% of new building standards (<34%NBS) will be required to be upgraded within a certain period of time, normally 15 to 20 years.

Council will identify those buildings of an age that may result in them being earthquake prone and write to the owners asking for an engineer’s report to determine the rating of the building. Thurlow Consulting Engineers have undertaken many such reports. When buildings are quantitatively evaluated as less than 34%, Thurlow Consultants will design the required upgrades to bring the building to more than 34% and up to 100% dependent on the client’s ultimate requirements.

Upgrading of earthquake prone buildings normally requires the introduction of bracing either by or a combination of tension rods, steel frames or shear walls. As we have considerable experience both locally and in the post Canterbury earthquake scene, we can offer our clients the benefit of this skill.

The Thurlow Consulting team has also provided expert witness to court on claims for structural damage and insurance repair since the Canterbury earthquakes and as such, understand the insurance risks in this field. To commercial property owners, body corporates and individuals, there are considerable benefits in utilising Thurlow’s expertise in this field.