Southerly by David Haywood

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Southerly: Refugee Status

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  • Russell Brown,

    ...about the fact that the Arts Centre glass was still there in one piece.

    I think that might have been our green-house lookalike Art Gallery he was talking about... I did find it odd that they set up their CD centre in (and under) the soaring glass-lined foyer of the art gallery...

    Quite. The old, solid-looking stone Arts Centre broke, and the new, delicate and glassy Art Gallery seemed untroubled.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Well, the story of Albert the Otter was quite heart warming but my naive mind did not detect the promised erotica.

    Sorry for the false advertising. The erotic subtext of that heartwarming children's tale was revealed via a series of close readings in the subsequent discussion thread.

    Russell started it.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    The old, solid-looking stone Arts Centre broke, and the new, delicate and glassy Art Gallery seemed untroubled.

    Sure makes you wonder about brick and block being described as "permanent materials", huh. I'm guessing real estate agents will have to come up with some other term...like "excitingly explodable", or, "converts easily to rubble". :-)

    Rich, Islander, Gio: LOL.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Golly. I would be finding out what glass they used for the Art Gallery and installing it in all my windows.

    What about the glass-roofed tram station in behind the Quest Hotel? (upon which we looked down when staying in Chch a couple of years ago).

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Jolisa,

    Making houses entirely of doorframe would seem the obvious solution.

    Paint 'em vermilion, and the Shinto foxes would protect you.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Nov 2006 • 1472 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    Golly. I would be finding out what glass they used for the Art Gallery and installing it in all my windows.

    Very foggy memories of Grand Designs suggest this would be feasible only if you wanted the glass to be, like, half the cost of the house.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    Golly. I would be finding out what glass they used for the Art Gallery and installing it in all my windows.

    Bullet proof?

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason,

    The trick is in the mounting of the glass. Jam it into solid frames with little room between the frame and the glass and.......oh dear..

    But allowing the frame to flex works well. The issue of damp proofing the frames is the really really expensive bit.

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    A dirigble! Tethered to the ground of your choice, but open to the skies - off you float at the first hint of an 8 or 9
    (This would be My Serious Choice...)

    Keeping it inflated and ready to go at a moments notice could be tricky. But even so, I think it beats my first choice of yurt.

    WRT the chimney issue: when we were doing Serious House Renovations last year, I recall that we had our cracked chimney stack wrapped and plastered over in much the same way as you would plastercast a broken limb (except weatherproofed and painted, obviously).

    Can't seem to find any info online, but possibly something worth thinking about? I'm assuming it's now relatively quake-proof?

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    Thinking of selling your house? Forget indoor-outdoor flow, the next big thing is Earthquake Strengthened.
    I'll be interested to see if Wellington folks heed the obvious lesson from Christchurch and start dismantling or reinforcing their chimneys. Not much sign of it so far but early days I guess.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Making houses entirely of doorframe would seem the obvious solution.

    like the tower in Predicament...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Chch Council urgently changes rules so "earthquake-prone" buildings now have to comply 66% with Building Code rather than previous 33%. I presume 100% is considered too hard?

    Bob Parker also says that property developers built some subdivisions on shonky land after council lost legal challenges against them. Wonder who profited from that, then? And who pays.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    The glass they use for those modern glass buildings is bloody strong. The Lloyd's of London building has survived two large bombs pretty much unscathed.

    I find it odd that the national headquarters of Civil Defence is in a bunker, located between the harbour and a fault line.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason,

    Bog Alert!!!!

    Decided to send email memo to Civil Defence. Have had this reply today:

    Hi Ross

    Thanks for your email. Yes we are aware of this. We are well down the road in regard to a major revision of the Get Ready Get Thru website and associated public information. This revision contains information on emergency sanitation.

    We hope to release this within the next few weeks. The English version of the site is finished, we are awaiting translations for the other languages featured on the site.

    Kind regards

    Adrian Prowse
    Senior Communications Advisor
    Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management
    The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua
    Direct Dial: +64 4 495 6833
    Mobile: +64 27 231 3698
    www.civildefence.govt.nz

    Never too late......

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason,

    Chch Council urgently changes rules so "earthquake-prone" buildings now have to comply 66% with Building Code rather than previous 33%. I presume 100% is considered too hard?

    It's OK.

    You'll only be 100% - 66% dead. That's a hell of a lot better than 100%-33% dead. :-)

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Simone Hindin,

    > I distinctly remember Sideshow Bob waxing lyrical on TV1 or TV3 about the fact that the Arts Centre glass was still there in one piece...so to speak....
    >

    That would be the Art Gallery (modern, glass) not the Arts Centre (victorian neo-gothic stone).

    Christchurch • Since Mar 2009 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    "earthquake-prone" buildings

    I see that designation around Wellington a bit and it always tickles my pendant bone: surely it's not the building that is earthquake prone, it's the city. The building might be liable to collapse in an earthquake, but that's not the same thing.

    (Aren't you all glad I'm not coming tonight?)

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    No.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    surely it's not the building that is earthquake prone, it's the city.

    No no, they mean in an earthquake, the building will be prone. Or, I suppose, supine.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Touché!

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Just thinking,

    With all the wisdom of rebuilding New Orleans below sealevel, the CCC are up for rebuilding Bexley, built on wetland/sand.
    This ain't lightning we're talking about, it's an earth quake and a proven liqefaction zone. Dumb de dumb dumb dumb.

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    the CCC are up for rebuilding Bexley, built on wetland/sand.
    This ain't lightning we're talking about, it's an earth quake and a proven liqefaction zone. Dumb de dumb dumb dumb.

    OTOH, having already suffered liquefaction, Bexley's subsoil is perhaps now well-compacted and much safer?

    There's an interesting .pdf here which maps liquefaction potentials over the whole city. There are, depending on groundwater conditions at the time of a quake, a lot of parts of Chch which are vulnerable to liquefaction. And by the sound of it, there are things that can be done to mitigate some of the risks.

    Having said that, I always thought subdividing Bexley was barmy, and I don't think I'd buy a house there.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • recordari,

    You'll only be 100% - 66% dead. That's a hell of a lot better than 100%-33% dead. :-)

    So if 33% compliant buildings resulted in zero deaths, what would 66% compliant buildings achieve? 33% increase in rebirths?

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Chch Council urgently changes rules so "earthquake-prone" buildings now have to comply 66% with Building Code rather than previous 33%. I presume 100% is considered too hard?

    That sounds bad on the face of it, but I'm guessing retrofitting old buildings to comply with current codes might require rebuilding them from the ground up. If we want heritage buildings to stay, we may have to accept they won't be as safe as new ones.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • chris,

    I kept thinking to myself: "This looks like a disaster zone." And then a few seconds later: "Oh, this is a disaster zone -- that's why it looks so much like one."

    Great to see you can retain your sense of humour amongst the chaos. A number of Chinese have mentioned that it's miraculous that no one was killed in such a strong quake and I'm inclined to agree. Chimneys aside, this disaster has shown us just how on the mark our engineers, builders, inspectors and standards are in New Zealand. Congratulations people, everyone, for setting a fine example of how to be prepared and how to respond. Even Bob.

    Mawkland • Since Jan 2010 • 1302 posts Report Reply

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