Experts probing the partial collapse of a 12-year-old Wellington building after the Kaikoura earthquake have found new information - but won't say what it is.
A 2013 photo of Wellington's Statistics House, left, with a photo of damage on the ground floor following the 14 November 2017 earthquake (from March 2017 inquiry report). Photo: RNZ / Supplied
The expert panel, appointed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, oversaw the investigation into why parts of two floors at Statistics House collapsed.
The group disbanded but was recalled to consider new information that had come to light during the building's demolition in February.
The ministry won't say more but the panel is understood to be reconsidering its original findings.
The original findings of the independent investigation revealed that the design met industry standards at the time but Building Minister Nick Smith said this did not fully account for the effects of beam elongation during an earthquake, an issue that was deficient in the Concrete Structures Standard at the time of the design.
He said there needed to be changes to the relevant standard.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has now issued a warning that using the type of high-rise floor support like was used in the Statistics House building is likely to fail to comply with the Building Code.
The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering President, Peter Smith, said earthquakes in general provided new information on how to improve building design.
