Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) Building Hearing

In the week beginning 28 November 2011 the Commission held a public hearing to consider all issues relevant to the failure of the Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) building at 233 Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch, in the earthquake of 22 February 2011, and the substantial loss of life and injury that resulted.

The Commission considered:

• whether the building complied with earthquake-risk and other legal and best-practice requirements both when it was designed and constructed and on or before 4 September 2010;
• whether any alterations to, and maintenance of, the building complied with earthquake-risk and other legal and best-practice requirements both when they were carried out and on or before 4 September 2010;
• why the building failed on 22 February 2011 and why the failure caused extensive injury and death;
• whether there were any particular features of the building that contributed to the failure;
• the nature of the land associated with the building and how it was affected by the Canterbury earthquakes;
• whether the building had been identified as earthquake-prone on or before 4 September 2010;
• whether the building was subject to required or voluntary measures to make it less susceptible to earthquake-risk and the compliance standards they had achieved;
• the performance of the building and any damage sustained in the earthquake of 4 September 2010 and the aftershocks down to 22 February 2011;
• the nature and effectiveness of any inspections of the building or other actions taken in respect of it following the 4 September earthquake down to 22 February;
• the results of the investigation carried out by the Department of Building and Housing into the collapse of the building; and
• any other issues relevant to the building under the Commission's Terms of Reference.

Timetable

Date	Time	Presenter	Role/Organisation
28 November	10am	Acknowledgement of bereaved families and survivors by Justice Mark Cooper	Commission Chairperson
	10.15am	Opening Statement by Stephen Mills QC	Counsel Assisting the Commission
	11am	Robert Wynn	Witness to the collapse of the PGC building
	11.30am	BREAK
	11.45am	Helen Guiney	Perpetual (tenant)
	12.30pm	Julia Stannius	MARAC (tenant)
	1pm	LUNCH
	2.15pm	Glenys Ryan	Education Review Office (tenant)
	3pm	David Sandeman	Marsh Insurance (tenant)
	3.30pm	BREAK
	3.45pm	Stephen Collins	Director, Cambridge 233 (building owner)
	4.15pm	Steve McCarthy	Environmental Policy and Approvals Manager, Christchurch City Council
		ADJOURNMENT
29 November	9.30am	Steve McCarthy (continued)
	10.50am	Colin Hair	Company Secretary, Pyne Gould Corporation (former owner and tenant)
	11.30am	BREAK
	12.10am	James West	Operations and Financial Controller, Pyne Gould Corporation
	1pm	LUNCH
	2.30pm	Helen Golding	tenant
		PGC Building Property Managers
	3pm	Howard Buchanan	Commercial Manager, NAI Harcourts
	3.30pm	BREAK
	4pm	Howard Buchanan (continued)
	4.55pm	Louise Sutherland	Commercial Property Manager, NAI Harcourts
		ADJOURNMENT
30 November	10am	Ann-Cherie Manawatu-Pearcy	Senior Property Manager, NAI Harcourts
		Holmes Consulting Group  - Post-earthquake building inspections
	10.25am	Mark Whiteside	Structural Engineer, Holmes Consulting Group
	11.30am	BREAK
		Mark Whiteside (continued)
	12.20pm	Alistair Boys	Structural Engineer, Holmes Consulting Group
		LUNCH
	2.15pm	Alistair Boys (continued)
	2.40pm	ADJOURNMENT
5 December	10am	John Hare	Director, Holmes Consulting Group
	11.35am	BREAK
		John Hare (continued)
	noon	Authors of the Department of Building and Housing's technical investigation report into the PGC building
		Rob Jury	Structural Engineer, Beca
		Dr Richard Sharpe	Structural Engineer, Beca
	1pm	LUNCH
	2.15pm	Beca presenters (continued)
	3.40pm	BREAK
		Professor Nigel Priestley	Priestley Structural Engineering
	4.55pm	ADJOURNMENT
6 December	9.30am	Professor Nigel Priestley (continued)
	9.50am	William Holmes	Rutherford & Chekene, consulting engineers (Peer reviewed for the Commission the Department of Building and Housing's technical investigation reports)
	11am	BREAK
	11.05am	Expert panel discussion: Rob Jury, Dr Richard Sharpe, Professor Nigel Priestley, William Holmes
	12.20pm	END OF HEARING

Counsel Appearing

• Counsel assisting the Commission;
• Michael Parker and Maree Cowan  of Michael E Parker for NAI Harcourts; 
• John Hannan and Marie Evans of DLA Phillips Fox for Holmes Consulting Group; 
• Mike Heron and Simon Cogan of Russell McVeagh for Pyne Gould Corporation; 
• Martin Smith of Gilbert Walker for Stephen Collins/Cambridge 233;  
• Duncan Laing Simpson Grierson for Christchurch City Council;    
• Nadine Daines, inhouse counsel for Christchurch City Council; and 
• Una Jagose of Crown Law for the Department of Building and Housing.

 

Submissions

Read received submissions

Related Reports

Department of Building and Housing technical investigation reports

Department of Building and Housing technical investigation reports: peer review by William Holmes