15 years on: How the Christchurch Earthquake Shaped our Industry’s Approach to Retrofitting URM Structures

The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence caused widespread damage and collapse of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings across Christchurch, resulting in significant loss of life and fundamentally reshaping the engineering profession’s approach to assessing and retrofitting these structures.

Fifteen years on, the industry has accumulated extensive knowledge through research, testing, and the implementation of retrofit solutions across hundreds of URM buildings. This presentation reflects on how lessons learned from the earthquakes, and subsequent research programs have translated into practical changes in engineering practice, design methodologies, and retrofit strategies.

The presentation will explore key developments that have emerged since the earthquakes, including improved understanding of URM failure mechanisms, advancements in anchorage design, and the adoption of targeted retrofit interventions aimed at mitigating life-safety hazards such as parapets, façades, and out-of-plane wall failures. It will focus on tangible and applicable learnings that can improve the quality and reliability of our retrofit designs.