BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand)

BRANZ, the Building Research Association of New Zealand, is an independent research, testing and information organisation for the building industry in New Zealand. It was established in 1970; its predecessor, the Building Research Bureau, was an industry-funded research library from the 1950s. BRANZ is based at Judgeford in Porirua, near Wellington, where it has research and testing facilities. Its website is branz.co.nz.

Funding

BRANZ is funded mainly through the Building Research Levy, created by legislation in the late 1960s. The levy is charged at 0.1% on building consents for work valued over NZ$20,000, which BRANZ describes as $1 for every $1,000 above that threshold. BRANZ has publicly responded to a government Cabinet proposal to remove the Building Research Levy Act.

Activities

• Research on affordability, resilience, sustainability and quality of buildings, including weathertightness, durability, fire and energy performance.
• Testing of building products and systems.
• Appraisals of building products, which assess them against the New Zealand Building Code.
• Publications for builders and designers, including the bimonthly magazine Build and technical guides.

Roofing relevance

BRANZ research and guidance is widely used for roofing in New Zealand, especially on:

• weathertightness, following the country's "leaky homes" problems of the 1990s and 2000s;
• corrosion of metal roofing in coastal and geothermal environments;
• wind loads, fixings and roof bracing;
• roof underlays, ventilation and condensation in roof spaces;
• durability of membranes and other low-slope roof systems.

Related bodies

In New Zealand, BRANZ works alongside the Roofing Association of New Zealand (RANZ), the New Zealand Metal Roofing Manufacturers (NZMRM) and government regulators. Comparable building research bodies elsewhere include national laboratories in the United States, the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Germany and the National Research Council Canada.