Principal Researcher: Associate Professor Jason Ingham
Students involved: Alistair Russell, Charlotte Knox
Unreinforced masonry buildings can still be found around New Zealand and are often of historical or religious importance. In the 1930s, Auckland was the capital city of New Zealand. It was enjoying a strong economy and a rapidly expanding population. This lead to a building boom, remnants of which are still evident today with many existing pre-1930 buildings still standing. A cluster of these unreinforced masonry buildings are found in the Auckland city central area, some in excellent condition and some ready for demolition. Although these buildings are no longer the most prevalent structural type, they are of significant value to the historical identity of the city.
This project incorporates studies investigating the behaviour of the walls and diaphragms of unreinforced masonry buildings, the material characteristics of the masonry and various retrofit solutions. Most commonly the frame encompasses the front face of the building, as can be seen in the photos below, and is made up of piers and spandrels. To date no research has been conducted on the seismic assessment and retrofit of these frames.