NZ National Seismic Hazard Model Update: A ‘One Page Explainer’ for Building Owners, Managers, Developers

RBG has been operating in New Zealand for over 6 years. Our leadership team is made up primarily of NZ-trained engineers who have returned to NZ after working abroad in one of our many RBG offices across the globe. We are engineers who ‘grew up’ on seismic engineering, refining and expanding our technical skills while working on some of the world’s most complex engineering projects.

New Zealand can be a tough place for buildings, and it doesn’t get much tougher than the Milford Alliance Avalanche Response Team Building, one of RBG’s first completed projects in NZ. Located on State Highway 94 near the Homer Tunnel, the site is close to NZ’s Alpine fault, near the expected epicentre of a south-to-north rupture scenario. To achieve an efficient design at such a demanding site lead us down an ‘all timber’ route to keep the building light on its foundations while achieving the seismic resilience so often demonstrated by light timber-framed structures. Since then, RBG has completed many projects, peer reviews, and assessments requiring specialist seismic knowledge.