"EARTHQUAKES AND ARCHITECTURE."

New Zealand Mail, Issue 867, 12 October 1888, Page 33

"EARTHQUAKES AND ARCHITECTURE."

At the meeting : of: ffhe-Philosophical' Society on Wednesday last week/aii‘interesting paper-entitled ‘‘--Earthquakes‘and. Architecture,a ‘reply to paper read by Mr-W. : M; at.'the previous meeting of the’Society'\vas read by Mr, Thomas Turnbull./ F.'R.'T. B. A... In opening, IVIr Turnbull - explained that as Mr. Maskell had ja jug paper, with .only o.ne exception, critiffked .buildings. of..which he had been the architect, he feltitivas bis bounden duty to those who had employed him to vindicate the faith he had in the stability of brick buildings, and to show as far as he could those gentlemen, as well as others, that their confidence in thefoundations of our city was not misplaced, and''also to prove that modern science,, had in arcb^bctgß^;yfl3®quirecPfpHiliciegfcf knowledge of -’■ble to erect buildings capable of earthquakes, even of a iverer nature than they wqro, ever likely ) experience here. ” The subject was an nportant one, as . 'without sufficfiehkboh-' dence in the lasting stability of the hidings those who made our cities would ever attempt to erect any of a permanent laracter. Thus tli'epMjjrefs bfyjdrcfifttjcre would be clie cktfdyhi fd*tH &L e s ITintfex

bur civilisation impaired. From this .nit of view the subject was not only an mportant bub ;>n/interesting o*fe. ■■ ASMri Maskell had quoted :jPruiessoij( MMnej of Japan, as phqbablyrrtbq qbpstfr(liyjbg.' aujthority, and v/h'ibh, from flie teaor'.of h't s , paper, he (M!-MaskbU3^i-d : e'?i't/y'b®evea/ 'lr Turnbull said he would refer to pordonsfof the Professor’s work on the effect f earthquakes on buildings for the purose' vof showing that lie „ was, jot as ’ifidlible as Mr MaskellSSSiTcti Slavic f*l?em ilieve. When- ho rf fMu ffujiu-bp 11 bad read,:.'.‘••several m * that 1 ’ nook he had come to the conclusion that the •ofgssov, with all his talent, knew little H-rffthing of architect ura} constrnctimu, , he used s&¥ ikiimvu in pm tice, and nowhere did ■ give any specific infoima ion ;is to the leibf construction, or to the qualities the material used in t.ho buildings ined. but contented liims It y/it.h staging nethe ■ or l)r}.cjc (ff^stonejf.jVndiSi<it f ho much. Hcffiftrt jfhot.Sd*'tTjeT , rufe3Hor , s' works, at some length, and endeavoured to diow ;: ' that he was not so much an

authority, as ~Mr. Maskell ,yo.uld havethem/ nf.- Keve hi> v \v'as.'» He referred- especially to one statement made by the Professor—“that a civjl ~engineer, writing about., the / New /Zealand earthquake iqf 185py : i when -jail brick buildings in /’Wellington, were overthrown, says thatiitiwas ..njost .violent on the sides of/the hj.ll, and least so in the ce> tre of _thefplairis. ” ¥;/The Professor had quoted •this from" 1 report of the British* Association of 1858. Now they all knew this sweeping assertion to be widc.of .the truth, , and, they .might well agk what about the restofthe'Professor’s quotations. ' Seeing this assertion had“ been made- from.,-such a ;source and repeated in such/a/bOok as the Professor’s, he liad made inquiries concerning the earthquakes of much-abused .Wellington-, ; and he mentioned Messrs/Ts .*MeKffnzie ; and J. Plinuner in particular."" ' Th’ere’-lind only been tluee earthquakes of any consequence since 1840, namely, in 1840, 1848, and 1855;-“’ The earthquake of 1848 was of a much more severe character than the one in 1840, and many of the brick buildings in tlie city were shattered. Mr Fitzherbert’s free and bonded store in Farisli-street collapsed, but was subsequently 'restored.’by. Air Pliihme'r ’ without taking off a slate. The front- wall of ; the. Cdioiiial Hospitiil 'in 'Pipit'ea-stiffer Avas * partly thrown out.- A new. brick bulldiiig one f Mount, Click had tobe stopped in cpnse-., queiico of the' shako. Hickson’s' store, which was also damaged, was still stand-

ing at the corner of Old Customhouse and Cornhill-stroets. The Wesley Church in, .Manners-street was also thrown down. ; These were all the brick buildings injured. It was- worthy of note that.no, wooden buildings were injured. .j.Tlie brick buildings were built then, of.,a : mortar composed of -shell-lime - aod clay, .frbnt Barrett’s- point,, which, . with .-age; t ryyas reduced to a powdeivn Oldnntelligeiqq' pioneers assured him that if the "buildings 5 were, constructed -then-as : little or nd'damage' would nave lie on done. A sensational report of this earthquake- was drawn- up by- ATr: Eyre,'M.ieut.-?'‘ Governor, which had a most alarming -effect,--and forlaMpng-? time. sliock of 1855 he had keen assured that no brick buildings we VO] totally Ytt'rec?l^qct,/ though some few were-injured in ; fact, : - the buildings erected before that time yet. Sfncdj - hackreifd his papei* lie had Visited chbni, ancl found theni in good order, and answering' - the purposes fori wh.ic,lui;liey„were.ereuted.. - .As whether, jt was. possilole ‘to.'erect'.lirick buildiiigs’ih 'New Zea- , land, and , m.yAVellington ill ,: capable,of resisting/'earthqiiakes, even'of - V -a severer,-nature than • any they had i hitherto experienced,; he saidrhe/had no/ , hesitation-in saying that v it’lyaS,]p.nd',.that> - jbuildings bf-skeh a characteiywere.erected'V. ? As Mr rMsskell Jiad.-yefetU'ud.,ty:seyeral'pf r -the. buildings! objected' under liis (Mr Turit- ( bqli’sl carq,;hp‘>desired to say something ] respecting them: Conceriiing Alessrs AV. ; andh.G.o’T.umbulTs building on/the re- j claimed, land, he stated that he had sug- . ] gested floating foundations, as they were j not ■ cosily, had stood the earthquakes • \veil iii San Francisco, that they filled in ( earthwork between the rock below, and ) the,foundations of the building would act t as a. cushion and deaden the stroke of an earthquake, should one occur. This r -fqundation consisted of cross planking aiid:' a double , row of beams all bolted to- f gether.: The motive s .foi - this system of j 'foundation; was that when a shake oc- n currdd’ 'the- hbayy beams and planking f

would carry the superstructure along with the oscillations of the earthquake. When, this,building'was in course of erection an earthquake occurred. This was 'at a.time wlieii our Solons were';iff‘ session, ’and luany. of,.them .rushed;.-down, to the. re.-, elaiineii -land, expecting to see tlie buildings in ruins, and/he supposed they were somewhat disgusted to see tlie mechanics at work as if nothing had happened, so little knowledge - had they of the ■strength"and tenacity of brick buildings. He mentjqned tiiis tq__shp\y that eyen -the- . 'siftibgs of tlie NevF-Zealand popubitioirhad little faith at that time in the Stability Ofibrick structui'es.iffAVellington. .. ’He-.en'tered -into the question of cements, and the most suitable, in his opinion, to [be used; here, . recommending- -Beton a; gyniere. ... Referring, to, .the qualities of 'New Zealaiid timbers, ’he said they , liad -little or no’ fibte, br?>kc short without warning, some of the varieties were never seasoned, and the most useful -, : .aud - best, •.. shrunk the end way—to the disgust of _ satil’tMtt'tfie ’National Mutultl Buildings’ *, had a heavy c irnice to their and that the arches,did not carve into the. 1 ’jib.utni ebts. He said tlfe Lsiimei t>Tff,h e Pbtl 5 ] vNqw :iii ; -eadh those buikliiigs) r f the cprnjc.esj .projected-. 4’USt r ,G Jess-, | to the . best.,/luthoritics,. ~1 they should do,' bV ’ Joff^ei'/tb/ ppoduce- J their architectural bekaityJ •' jle'nbted tins j

to show that he had erred on Mr MasdcelJ’s side- if error it was. In~tllis*slfjiri low 1.

however, the line if 6 inches,. lqp.yp CMul/j----have iSj&SSIt«Sci.K (1 witfh as waa infinitely m<*r«: than'^a‘‘ertafffeV-balancing weight, find as was shown by tlie naked walls of the Post Office, having stood for

the last J.B m<2U tbs without rtloorjor jcpofr So far as the arches were all curve'! to the abutments for the reason

that there was nowhere else to butt CirffiTi'To." < For**fTic* safety** >f * fehe *Timid-

ing now ho could not but ff IfyTiirethc wijuQ '%l , ye'‘‘st(‘aid in "Tiny pait of injuring- the

severest shakes lie had felt here or on the

West Coast of America, and had perfect

-conndeWce in his safety. ’■ * He ‘denied Mi ItTaskell’s-assertion thab buildiiigs werejnbl put up in Wellington to resist earthquakes. Here, as elsewhere, money cut red largely into the qualities -of* a-building, and speaking 'personally, he used to the utmost jevery precaution; that l the money at hit disposal would allow him, and he was sure jthat his contemporaries would do the Same for their owfct sakes ; therefore it was neither just nor fair to an honourable profession to make such an assertion, not even by a gentleman who confessed that he knew nothing about it. He agreed with Mr Mask ell that the Corporation bylaws ought td be; inpre ■ explicit. There was not one word about the quality of the bricly opof the mortar, .or how they were to be laid, together, and 1 Other important matters. Clearly, their City Fathers had paid?' more, attention to the lire instirahcmjigents than to earthquake, agitation. He tliought it was time that the city should have a Building Inspector who knew.something about building construe-, bion.-' He suggested- that-on'the reclaimed land floating foundations should be used as a protection against earthquakes. The bricks should be hard and square, and well wetted, and the mortar should he composed of what is called Betop agjldniere in France. Hoop-iron should be puilt jin the walls, at , short heights, and :he builaings girted . with bqnd-irons Yistiiad of wall plates. The joists should jo a..KftU of their depth in thickness, and Supplied witn wro’ught-iron anchors. Mr Vlatkell had told them that he had taken opportunities of looking at some of the brick ~ buildings .. in the. ■ city, and * had ; found that. , the greater part of ; the theories of Professor Milne had been heglected. He hoped that he (Mr Maskell) would now admit that in these visits liis looking was only superficial';'that ho only saw regular openings piiemver the other, instead of scattered ones ; that the .a.i'chcs . were not curved Into, the. abutments ; and that there were soiiie -projeetibiis-whichdid not please himHe hoped that after having heard the foregoing general description of, the.coii-. stfuctioh 'cfThe buildings under consideration, that Mr Masked would see that the wroujftt.iMli , fbudl”i I wa6 ; walls, andthe irEif* boiiudCcdMieciioii-tliat' the floor - and roof had with the walls, formed such a tq\vb|’| 6f CgfcengM as )ev|p] Pfqfesldr i " Miliie"uever ilreafut df. ! All Ills"( Milne’s) theories were _mos£ly..<m The. .face, aiukno, -part of jtlibjfrkmewpiiic!.!.) T'hiS: system jikdi Been followed in the building he (Mr Slaslcel!) hue! criticised. It was a mode of

-consfcractton-thn±'-had - r jjTO,yed "elmnencly efficient and along thatcoast, quid wis in usoAvifch the architects; there, a body of /'gentlemen represented ■ ; by every) nation • ini'Europe, as well as. -America, and who had begun the study of earthquake-proof c nstruction ..~]ong years tfefofe) /• phd? of J[bluj£ IVliln.p .ivas known scie.ntiiic worid;

who were still continuing" the study, find on this subject were, in liis opinion, the best authority .on,- the face of the earth. In. he hoped there was nothing in Mr; Maskell’s paper .or ..Professor Milne’s book that '-would eliminate-..the faith; they had in, their adopted country, and-that they would continue to hope that they would. have no more severe tremours of' the earth in the future than they had in the past. ■ „ •Mr W. M. Maskell regretted that Mr Turnbull had made the question a\persqjialpiie.- , -He (Mr Maskell) had carefully avoided that, and his only object*’ in presenting the paper was, to draw public attention to" an" important- matter. He did'ndt desire ,to defend Professor Milne ---lie could stand up for himself—but if he was;"? allowed he differ from Mr ' Turhbdirs opiinoin .df that gentle-? mantA As ' far 'as liis -/Mr-''Maskell’s)

, :-cx.o. ' ftkJ mo l c«ot\UXX o J ..reading Went—and .it was not that of a fevv-days—no name stood- as that' of Professor Milne upon such matters. He combated Mr Turnbull’s arguments at some length, and pointed out that the effects..and- jesults^o^...earthquakes .-were - incomprehensible. Earthquakes seemed to knock buildings down, or leave them alone^qnstr as." tli~eyc]jked.. /A. numbervof. buildings oh one side of a street might be knocked down,. ; while-;-others biv'.the opposite side, would be uninjured. He considered that Mr Turnbull h.td given up the whole question .just .as,..,an-, architect - ll who ' l ' had “'‘written'.to,' a newspaper in> teply-td hiS' (Mr Maskeirs) pa|>er. ; haa,.doy.q—by making.-ia. statement that we were got, likejy.[to again expert-, once destructive earthquakes. Those who thought thiCk ' were ’jk'r’fetftly ’ welcome to their opinions. -n|>b-”|)nliqvg ,<that Wp were- hot going- to £ KTiikv* desfcrhctive earthquakes in Hew Zealand, and he exilian") b'dtlMt 'tliMlfdfe'’of n 1 s paper was basyd.j.qn,.. T tk,e, pup ppsitipn, ; Ak'VW tVshathad idppened . berofe 'would.' rpr<hably ,j)appeii J He'-VjdriitecP 'ddmb notes.-', bn'' the. 1 / ihocisTof l'Bdßtm- + rMgh f ’by'Mi' Ij WI Ei'lkher- ! l jstateduthn ti-ltthe .eavtlrin sorih I was moVed, ipi,wa\;fs averaging about j ;2in in height.” He would like to know 1

1 1 •t h eiiv.brick i ldiugs wool cljfi i rggu ncler I those ciYcumstances. '"‘Mr Mtzliorr orfc had j sfcatod “‘were thrown* and that a sulij, I'dSqjipnt shock cuniplefeSl SbSi} Obstruction ; of most of the brick buildings. Mr Mask ell also quoted from some notes on the Game earthquake given by Mr t H. „S. [ l 9^i > ‘ I s a^#; MvrT i rd ( an article in tjiy Westminster Jieyiew,.deJbaili% 6fta ditfiuHge done.flQßwfolakkeff* ‘ expressed his belief that if the recent 1 jwcp«ii«yu:ed» «ijb •had*!-* occurred here that half the large buildings of f i jKl,.st(jiic i tj i.e~eifcy wynid. Jxsxtfp | bbei iy : .'iiijtioltSilij £ f i lfey.t ha B) tic b' j fallen do win ' j JMr £ -T.urnb£sl hawitig briefly replied, tffq j difecussibfrterininated. - • : -' 4 * '