When a devastating series of earthquakes struck Christchurch, New Zealand in 2011, Ben Exton was a student and Geoff Banks was a practicing structural engineer. Ben was one of thousands of students who volunteered to help shovel liquefaction and support the affected residents of Christchurch - an experience which helped inspire him into the structural engineering field. Geoff found himself inspecting homes for safety and then supporting families and insurers in resolving protracted insurance claims.
Through these personal experiences, the founders of Seismic Shift have witnessed first-hand the human cost of earthquake damaged buildings. They have seen how damage to these important structures impacts people's financial, physical and mental wellbeing and creates enormous waste and climate emissions.
Engineering standards are primarily designed to save lives. But what if we could do better than that?
What if we could build more resilient buildings that would suffer less damage and protect people from the trauma and financial costs of rebuilding - and would spare the planet the waste and carbon emissions?
This is our mission at Seismic Shift - to deliver affordable resilience to earthquake-prone communities around the world.
Ben, Geoff & team are supported by a group of expert advisors, researchers and specialists.
