In many parts of the world, gas extraction, mining and other human actions are creating seismic activity. Cities and countries that have never experienced earthquakes are now facing seismicity, and needing to strengthen existing structures never designed to cope with earthquake forces. At the same time, the design of new build structures needs to cater for the changing physical environment, with local firms struggling to deal with increasingly extreme conditions.

A big part of our seismic expertise is centred on the depth and quality of our assessment and analysis—using advanced and custom-built technology, like Non-Linear Time History Analysis, to better understand the effect of seismic activity. Whether we’re working on existing buildings needing strengthening, or creating a complete structural design for a new-build, we apply a great understanding of the way loads transfer through structures in an earthquake—redistributing to other elements as damage occurs. That way, we can optimise designs for the right level of performance, avoiding design ‘overkill’ and wasted time and money.

With more than 60 years of seismic engineering behind us, Holmes Consulting is exporting our deep technical expertise to newly seismic regions. Using the seismic design skills and knowledge we’ve built in both the USA and New Zealand, we’re helping building owners, governments and other stakeholders protect people and structures from induced seismicity and potential earthquake damage. Along with our sister company in California, we’ve also expanded our New Zealand base to open a thriving office in the Netherlands.