The following extracts have been taken from an article “ART DECO BUILDINGS: EARTHQUAKE PRONE OR EARTHQUAKE PROOF?” (Hawke's Bay Heritage News April 2016) that summarises the findings of the "Seismic Considerations for the Art Deco Interwar Reinforced Concrete Buildings of Napier, New Zealand" report.
“ Professor Ingham concluded that the structural design of the Hawke’s Bay Art Deco buildings of the 1930s was probably well ahead of its time because, when they examined the concrete structural parts of these buildings, the research team found that columns and other structural components had been constructed with plenty of well placed reinforcing steel – and also that there were plenty of these columns and components to ensure the building’s strength. Tests showed that the concrete and steel used were both equal in strength to that in current use and overall the concrete structure of the Art Deco era buildings generally exceeded the current new building standard. ”