Structural engineering lab - opened 2023

Looking to test a building product or system? Find out more about BRANZ’s structural testing services.

Structural research and testing helps to ensure the resilience of buildings for the long term.

BRANZ’s new lab can now test buildings up to 3 storeys high and can simulate stronger earthquakes and more extreme winds to ensure that today’s buildings can withstand whatever the future holds.

It means we can stress test buildings against earthquakes we’ve had previously, replicating the movement and force of the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes, for instance. This ability helps to ensure buildings perform as they should and can withstand ‘the big one’.

The structural engineering laboratory can also earthquake test non-structural building parts, like suspended ceilings, mechanical plant and components, partitions and claddings.

The structural engineering laboratory can:

• monitor the response of building systems to simulated earthquakes and the impact of snow, wind, gravity and occupant use
• earthquake test non-structural building parts like suspended ceilings, mechanical plant and components, partitions and claddings
• conduct multiple tests at the same time.

The structural engineering laboratory features:

• A 500 m² building footprint, about the size of a netball court, and a 13.5 m high roof, taller than three double decker buses. This allows us to test and simulate the impact of earthquake, wind, gravity and occupant use on multi-storey structures and run multiple tests at the same time.

• An 8 m tall, 700 mm thick reinforced concrete strong wall. This robust structure allows BRANZ to simulate forces from multiple directions simultaneously such as earthquake conditions and to test large, complex structures.

• Hydraulic pump unit and rams, which can apply 50 tonnes of tension/compression loads and can displace building materials and systems by as much as 500 mm. This can replicate strong seismic shaking to see how buildings may respond in an earthquake. It can also replicate the magnitude of recent earthquakes such as the 2016 Kaikōura and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.

• State-of-the-art data acquisition system that can monitor the real-time response of building systems to seismic forces, as specified under the New Zealand Building Code.

• Pressure chamber to assess how roof and wall cladding systems perform against a differential air pressure of up to 7 kPa, which is equivalent to wind speeds of more than 200 km/h.

Updated: 4 July 2025