A new office building in central Christchurch has multiple flaws in its earthquake design that the city council was warned about almost two years ago. A dispute between engineers about the safety of a multi-storey building in Christchurch has raised more concerns about how engineering designs are checked and consented. RNZ has revealed a leaked report by engineering firm Beca raised design issues about the building such as inadequate piles, an overloaded support column, under-strength steel frame fixings and an underestimated earthquake loading. She said when initial concerns were raised by Aurecon, the council asked the building owner's design engineers to respond. Chartered Professional Engineers were involved at the design stage, the peer review stage and the regulatory review stage.

Source: Stuff May 22, 2019 01:28 UTC