16
Click image for video – starts at .32
From left: Brian Langham, Jason Guiver, Paolo Lavisci and Andrew Waugh
A British architect who has built the world’s tallest wooden building is calling on wood to be part of the Christchurch rebuild.
Knox Church is one of the few survivors of the Christchurch earthquakes, and wood is what held the brick and mortar in place.
Bricks were cracked and broken in September and tumbled down in February but the Methodist Church is still standing.
“The wood is really flexible, it is brilliant stuff, and the wood is connected by thousands of nails,” says structural engineer Stephen Hogg.
Over 1000 commercial buildings in the CBD are to be demolished, almost all built out of concrete and steel.
Wood is lighter and won’t suffer the same damage, says NZ Wood’s Jason Guiver.
“It acts as a series of elastic bands inside the building, so when it is under a lot of force the building will move around a little bit,” he says.
British architect Andrew Waugh toured the red zone and is stunned by the destruction.
He’s built the worlds tallest wooden building near the centre of London. It’s a nine story apartment block with 49 apartments and he believes similar buildings could be constructed inside Christchurch’s red zone quickly.
“Prefabricate the walls, the floors, crane them on, and screw them together,” he says.
Knox Church is one building that can be saved and will be safe to be in. Engineers say it will be rebuilt and the wooden structure will remain.The bricks will go and be replaced with a more modern earthquake resilient material and Sunday services will be held again.
3 News – Hamish Clark
[ Read the original... ]Tags: Andrew Waugh, Christchurch Earthquake, Christchurch rebuild, Dr Paolo Lavisci, NZ Wood Design Advisory Centre, Reaching new heights with wood seminar
(1).jpg)