Rotorua Museum

Strengthening an Iconic Heritage Site

The Rotorua Museum, a category one heritage building, was closed in 2016 following a seismic assessment made after the Kaikoura earthquake.


asBuilt were engaged to help Council’s structural engineers with the building information they needed to plan their methodology to save the building.

 

Partners

Rotorua Lakes Council

Scale

1908 Elizabethan-style Heritage Bath House building and Museum

Services

Capture, Model (3D HD Scan to BIM modelling)

Problem

Earthquake strengthening requirements close an iconic tourism site.

Solution

Using point cloud laser scanning, asBuilt were able to capture the entire museum structure, digitally.

Outcomes

The data certainty needed, digitally, to save the Museum

Why


asBuilt were engaged as a part of Council’s due process of research, destructive testing and analysis to determine the condition of the building, in detail, and the damage sustained during the earthquake.

 

What


asBuilt used 3D HD Scanning technology to assess and to assist the analysis of the structural integrity of the museum.

Through asBuilt’s point cloud data capture and creation of a highly detailed digital model of the museum, structural engineers were able to make better informed decisions and plan their methodology to save the building.

In turn, the museum gained an important record of this landmark structure. Some parts, such as the Rotorua Bath House, date back to 1908.

The future of Rotorua Museum:

  • Detailed seismic assessment was completed which rated the building at 19% of new building standard. (Buildings below 34% are considered earthquake prone, while those under 67% are considered earthquake risk).
  • In 2017 four structural strengthening options were evaluated, and the preferred option selected.
  • In mid-2020, resource consent was granted, and construction is about to commence on a restoration and strengthening project.

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