Engineer quiet about office block

JOSEPH JOHNSON/Fairfax NZ

STILL STANDING: CTV building designer David Harding was the principal engineer on this five-storey Christchurch building on Moorhouse Ave.

The designer of the Canterbury Television (CTV) building, which collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake killing 115 people, also took the lead on a five-storey office block in the central city 20 years later.

David Harding, who was found by the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission to have been working "beyond his competence" when designing the CTV building in 1986, was the principal engineer on the building at 22 Moorhouse Ave in 2008.

Tenants in White Fox & Jones House, which overlooks Hagley Park, include Samsung, GE Energy, GCA Lawyers, Opus and law firm, White Fox & Jones.

Harding, principal of Harding Consulting Engineers, was the "engineer on record" who signed off the design. It is understood Harding worked on the foundation design at 22 Moorhouse Ave, while son Matthew Harding, a Sydney-based structural engineer, did the calculations and computer modelling.

An Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (Ipenz) disciplinary committee hearing last week was told David Harding had not designed a multi-level building since the CTV building.

The Sunday Star-Times sought clarification from Harding's lawyer Michael Kirkland about the roles David and Matthew Harding had in the design and why Harding took on the project after more than 20 years between multi-level designs, but received no response.

The building was constructed by Amherst Properties, which confirmed David Harding was the principal engineer.

Amherst property manager Robyn O'Brien said it was built to the "highest construction standards" and met the building codes. It was assessed after each earthquake event in 2010 and 2011, did not sustain any structural damage and was deemed safe to occupy, she said.

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Engineer quiet about office block