Reconstructing a very different Christchurch: How the 2011 earthquakes have driven decisions on selection of structural systems

After the Canterbury earthquakes, the central business district of Christchurch was to a significant extent demolished. It is now being rebuilt, as a city with a variety of structural forms and a predominance of steel structures. To quantify the extent of the shift in construction practice taking place there, and, more importantly, to identify some of the drivers that have influenced the decisions about the choice of structural material and specific structural systems, the authors have conducted a series of interviews with many stakeholders, and primarily structural engineering who designed more than 65% of the post-earthquake buildings constructed to date in Christchurch's CBD. Findings of that study show that the drivers are diverse and include costs, construction speed, perceptions of damage and of structural performance, tenants' requirements, engineering culture, and other factors. This has allowed to identify keys points that have an impact on the resilience of a new post-earthquake city in a region that benefits from state-of-the-art earthquake engineering expertise and capabilities.