Focus on stone buildings

Historic Oamaru stone buildings have provided the focus for a meeting of the North Otago branch of New Zealand Property Investors (NZPIA) and others held on Tuesday night.

Michael King, of Miyamoto Impact, an international company which focuses on risk management of earthquake-prone and damaged buildings, addressed the meeting of about 40 people at the Oamaru Opera House.

President of the North Otago branch of the NZPIA Helen Stead said the meeting was informative.

"Although Mr King is based in Christchurch, he shared his experiences which include post-earthquake visits and work in Japan, California and Haiti," she said.

"There were a lot of questions from those who attended, focusing on seismic solutions and cost-effective systems for the design, repair and restoration of buildings, particularly the historic Oamaru stone structures.

"The information he shared was very valuable."

Mr King was accompanied by a second speaker, structural consultant John Fitzgerald.

"Central to Mr Fitzgerald's discussion was the value of Oamaru's historic stone buildings," she said.

"He commented that the buildings and their designs have both local and international importance because they are a long way away from the buildings in the Northern Hemisphere, for example, where many of the designs come from."

Mrs Stead said both men were keen to return to Oamaru at a later date and to follow the progress of any work which would be done or likely to be done.