Improvements to state school building design including the implementation of low-damage design criteria

Abstract

The Ministry of Education (the Ministry) owns one of the largest property portfolios in New Zealand, with more than 15,000 buildings spread across nearly 2,100 state schools. Following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake sequence, the Ministry embarked on a significant capital works programme that is expected to continue to 2030 as part of the Ministry’s wider School Property Strategy. As a long-term property holder, the Ministry takes a proactive approach to asset management, requiring new school buildings meet specific requirements that consider life-cycle costs, with a focus on repairability and usability after significant seismic events. This paper presents the key design requirements that enhance the resilience and adaptability of the state school property portfolio, with specific focus on the Ministry’s seismic performance criteria. State school design requirements are set out in the Ministry’s Structural and Geotechnical Requirements document. This document was first introduced in 2015 and represents the early codification of Low Damage Design, with successful implementation by designers of a number of school buildings. The latest version (version 3.0) released in October 2020 clarifies and builds on previous versions.