New Zealand Steel is supporting a design competition that challenges participants to re-evaluate the requirements of a truly resilient society beyond the engineering context, and to incorporate the social, economic and human dimensions of earthquake engineering.

The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering has launched the competition, Design for Post-Earthquake Resilience of Cities: Multidisciplinary Design Ideas, which reflects the focus of the Society’s upcoming 2011 Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering to be held in Auckland in April.

Themed on building an earthquake resilient society, the conference provides a forum for presenting and evaluating developments and experience in mitigating the effects of earthquake and earthquake-related hazards.

Competition entrants are required to identify a city or community anywhere on the Pacific Rim that is prone to earthquakes and/or subject to earthquake-triggered landslip or tsunami risk. The site can be one which has experienced an earthquake or tsunami recently, or one that has known risks.

Participants are encouraged to choose a district they are familiar with and to respond to specific earthquake hazards, focusing on aiding recovery and social regeneration of that area.

By addressing the region’s vulnerabilities and identifying ways of increasing community resilience to the impact of earthquake-related hazards, design solutions should aim to reduce the long-term impact of an earthquake on both the built environment and the social fabric of the affected community.

Proposals are invited from all design disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning; and from all associated engineering and sociological disciplines. Multidisciplinary entries are welcome, as are international entries.

Entries will be judged by a multidisciplinary panel from architecture, design, engineering, sociology and emergency management fields.

Award winning entries and a selection of all entries will be published online.

Competition entries must be registered by March 18 and received by the organiser by April 8.

View the competition brief, entry requirements and registration details.