Glass risk at flawed building

Christchurch City Council staff want more evidence before they react to claims glass on a faulty building in the central city could fall on the public.

The owners of an eight-storey building at 230 High St in central Christchurch have approached the council asking for a cordon outside the building to keep the public out of danger. However, council head of building consenting Robert Wright said staff had asked the developer to provide the engineering analysis that supported setting up a cordon. The council has previously said the building, construction on which stopped in September last year, is not dangerous.

The building is owned by Rockwell E & C Ltd, a company owned by businessman Jinho Kwon, who is based in Manila.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) last week released a determination showing the building had at least 10 serious flaws that could compromise it in an earthquake.

The council issued consents for the building in stages between 2015 and 2017.

The design was peer reviewed and the building passed a superstructure inspection in November 2017.

The determination said 10 out of 13 structural aspects highlighted by engineers did not comply with the building code. The structural design work was done by Koreantrained engineer Joo Hyun Cho, the sole owner of Christchurch-based Seismotech Consulting. Rockwell director Soung Kim said the company was ‘‘seeking the council’s guidance as to the best way to address the building site in light of MBIE’s final report, including whether the site requires some kind of fencing’’. Kim said the developer had engaged an engineer six months ago to get a head start on ‘‘remedial efforts’’.