Citation on the award of NZSEE Fellow, April 2025
Alistair Cattanach is a Director at Dunning Thornton with over 30 years of experience in seismic engineering, both in New Zealand and the UK. Alistair has led innovative projects, including New Zealand’s first PRESSS-concrete building (Alan MacDiarmid), the first PRESSS-Lam timber building (Massey College of Creative Arts), and the pioneering use of Tectonus RSFJ dissipators at Nelson Airport. His innovative seismic strengthening projects, many of which have earned awards, have been shared at NZSEE conferences.
Alistair’s contributions extend beyond design, playing a key role in the post-earthquake analysis of the Hotel Grand Chancellor and assisting the Royal Commission panel. He was also the engineer behind the Clarendon Tower demolition, a groundbreaking project that achieved 92% building recycling and enhanced understanding of failure mechanisms, which was presented at the Concrete Conference.
A respected leader, Alistair has helped shape seismic engineering practices through his work on national guidelines, including contributions to unreinforced masonry and geotechnical sections for seismic assessment, and the Base-Isolation and Low Damage guidelines. He has presented nationally on topics such as seismic timber design and strengthening strategies and currently serves as one of two SESOC representatives on the MBIE/NHC Joint Committee reviewing assessment and retrofit guidelines.
