At the end of an earthquake, if a building hasn’t returned to its original position, the rubber bearings will slowly bring it back. This system as base isolation bearings was developed by Dr. Bill Robinson in the 1970s in New Zealand. In quake-prone Japan, base-isolated buildings are rented and sold at a 10 per cent premium, which pays for the additional engineering costs."There seems to be some sort of implicit assumption that the only way you can reduce damage is by using all sorts of expensive technology, when something like simplifying the form of the building and using good, basic design techniques will go a long way to reducing damage in the event of an earthquake," he said.Property developer Richard Diver said base isolation seemed a good option in the right circumstances, but it was expensive.The rubber-bearing technology used in many base-isolated structures was invented in New Zealand in the 1970s, coming out of work done by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Lower Hutt.Sharpe said his company was putting "our money where our mouth is" in using base isolation for the four-storey Triangle Centre in the central city.The use of base isolation spiked at the start of the Christchurch rebuild but has dropped off as developers try to limit costs to attract tenants with affordable rents."People always think about cost, and not about the value and, hell, we know after Christchurch the value of being able to get straight back into a well-designed building is enormous," Sharpe said.Christchurch developers are shying away from using base isolation technology, which protects buildings against earthquake damage, as they seek to reduce costs.Colliers general manager Jonathan Lyttle said in Christchurch there was a "severe kneejerk reaction" after the quakes to new building requirements.Few buildings built after 2004 were damaged beyond repair in the February 2011 quake, he said."There's quite a few intangible benefits that one only sees if you get a [magnitude] 7.0 [quake], but one pays for a very long time."Engineer John Hare, of Holmes Consulting Group, believed the initial rush to install protective engineering solutions was a "marketing push".Base isolation dampens the motion in a seismic event to protect contents and elements in a building, enabling it to remain functional after an earthquake.
The technical challenge of base isolation gets our blood pumping, and we love applying our technological horsepower to projects that need isolating. A base isolation system is a popular system implemented in a structure to protect it from the action of seismic forces. I think the answer is no.Wellington has nine good examples of base isolation including Te Papa and the retrofitting of the Parliament buildings.However, he was taking seismic precautions on his Victoria St buildings, including drilling piles as deep as 24 metres.Beca technical director of earthquake engineering Dr Richard Sharpe said some developers did not want to pay the "very small premium".But new buildings in Christchurch tend to use traditional construction techniques. Through real working experience – which again, very few can claim to have – we’ve developed some of the most advanced, robust base isolation systems ever designed.Low damage design (LDD) is the prevailing wind in the industry; the phrase on everybody’s lips. Plans were … Following the Canterbury Earthquakes there has been a strong market-driven interest in the use of base iso-lation in buildings to provide more damage resistant performance. Through our work in Christchurch and Wellington, and across the country, we’ve led in much of the LDD thinking and innovation.
The technical challenge of base isolation gets our blood pumping, and we love applying our technological horsepower to projects that need isolating. We’ve delivered several base isolation projects in New Zealand, and a number in seismic environments in the USA, Europe and Asia. "Did we need [new technology] and was there a market here that could actually afford them? Base Isolation for Salt Lake Temple Structure Base isolators will be part of Wakefield Hospital's $106 million redevelopment to ensure it can keep operating following a major earthquake. Seismic base isolation, also known as base isolation, or base isolation system, is one of the most popular means of protecting a structure against earthquake forces. To us, LDD is an opportunity to do what we do best: deliver smart designs that anticipate and cater for the challenges of the future. https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/videos/160-how-base-isolation-originated The project is funded by MBIE, EQC, NZSEE, SESOC and NZCS. How base isolation works Base isolation involves putting flexible bearings or pads made from layers of rubber and lead between … To us, LDD is an opportunity to do what we do best: deliver smart designs that anticipate and cater for the challenges of the future. Base isolation is a technique developed to prevent or minimise damage to buildings during an earthquake. But not everyone – in fact, very few – can claim to do it well.