Invited Seminar by Prof. Gregory MacRae

Abstract: After the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the New Zealand Government has not required increased seismic resistance of general building structures throughout NZ. This paper describes a number of reasons why such an approach may be valid. Reasons for not increasing the required earthquake resistance of NZ buildings include: (i) the possibility increased economic/carbon construction costs where construction is already regarded as being excessively expensive, (ii) issues with new technology, (iii) the low (or negative) benefit, and the uncertainty, as obtained from lifecycle analyses, (iv) the ability to rebuild after an earthquake, (v) the low possibility of a major event during the life of a particular structure, (vi) other priorities in this area, and (vii) the lack of support by the people. These topics are discussed using research studies by the author, and others, in order to further stimulate debate and rational decision making.

About the Speaker: Gregory MacRae is a professor of structural/earthquake engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He has also worked in Japan, USA, China and India conducting earthquake engineering. He chaired the ASCE Seismic Effects Committee, was senior advisor to the World Seismic Safety Initiative board, and was the NZ representative to the International Association on Earthquake Engineering. He is active in professional organizations, boards, and editorial and standards committees. He is currently Principal Investigator for the collaborative China-NZ ILEE ROBUST Project.