The Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) new arts and media building’s sustainable timber seismic design was announced as a winner at the Institution of Structural Engineers UK’s Structural Awards 2011 ceremony held in London recently.

As a landmark timber structure, the building is designed to showcase and stimulate structural timber use in New Zealand. It employs an advanced earthquake design to avoid damage, which is a world first for a timber building. The building design has a seismic bracing system – an application of rocking LVL shear walls based on PRESSS technology. The timber shear walls are designed to rock on their foundations to dissipate seismic energy.

Restrained by high-strength steel tendons that pull the wall back into position, energy dissipaters are incorporated between pairs of walls. These U-shaped steel plates flex as the walls move, absorbing the seismic energy.

This revolutionary earthquake technology has been developed by Aurecon structural engineers and is based on the latest timber research from the University of Canterbury. Aurecon says the building employs several new timber structural systems for floors, beams and columns that demonstrate the ability of structural timber for use in multistorey construction. All structural timber components were grown, milled, manufactured and erected within an 80km radius of Nelson.

Carl Devereux, Aurecon technical director and lead structural engineer for the NMIT project says the NMIT building demonstrates that sustainable multistorey timber buildings are not only achievable but affordable. “The project also demonstrates that a high level of earthquake protection is achievable and affordable for all building owners and with the recent earthquakes in Christchurch in mind this innovation in design should be demanded by all building owners.”

The NMIT building has also won a number of New Zealand awards throughout 2011 including the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Awards (excellence in the Education & Arts award category) and the New Zealand Wood Timber Design awards 2011 (winner of the Commercial Engineering Excellence). Aurecon’s Global Head of Innovation, Kourosh Kayvani says, “For Aurecon to win such a prestigious global award is fantastic recognition for our teams working in our centre of excellence in seismic engineering.

“Such prestigious global acknowledgement for this innovative project highlights our leadership in damage limiting seismic design and our ability to deliver excellent solutions to address the full range of client needs globally.”