"The range of entries for the 2009 awards shows just how diverse and engaging our members' work has become. Our staff tell us that working on interesting and challenging projects is one of the reasons why they choose to work for a consultancy. The challenges embodied in these awards entries would certainly be rewarding to all those working on them."

Brent Meekan, President

WINNERS:

For more information and illustrations of each project, click on the project name.

AWARDS OF MERIT:

An Award of Merit is made to a project that the judges considered to be of a very high standard of work. The project shows technical excellence, provides superior service to the client, consideration to the natural and social environment, and shows value for the investment. Some techniques new to NZ may have been introduced.

These projects are in alphabetical order:

Christchurch International Airfield Pavement Maintenance Works by Beca for Christchurch International Airport Ltd

John Cairns from Beca and John De Bono from Christchurch Airport accepted the award.

• During the 2007/08 Maintenance contract Beca and contractor Fulton Hogan introduced several innovative paving techniques to Christchurch airport.
• The objective was to reduce the airport's "carbon footprint" .
• The innovations included: use of recycled material in the pavement and use of a low-temperature asphalt, which uses about 40% less energy,
• The paved areas using these resource-saving methods is performing as well as those using standard bitumen products; and CIAL has increased the proportion of recycled pavement for subsequent maintenance programmes.
• This award recognises good cooperation within the team to achieve an environmentally friendly and cost-saving outcome.

Hamilton City Council Securing Water Supply for 35 Years by MWH NZ Ltd for Hamilton City Council

Emily Botje from MWH accepted the award on behalf of Hamilton City Council and MWH.

• The project was a joint programme between the Council, MWH and Simon Berry, Barrister, seeking to introduce priority for municipal water supply in Hamilton.
• The team was instrumental in moving a variation to the Waikato Regional Plan that gave priority for water extraction for municipal supplies.
• The team then went on to develop a Water Conservation & Demand Plan for the city and to secure a 35-year water permit.
• This project is the first 35-year permit for a municipal supply and, as such is an important step forward for water resource planning.

Hawke's Bay Opera House by LHT Design Ltd for Shand Shelton

Bryan Greig and Alan Thompson from LHT Design and Roger Shand from Shand Shelton and Mayor Lawrence Yule from Hastings District Council accepted the award.

• LHDesign provided structural engineering services for strengthening the Hawkes Bay Opera House and for developing neighbouring properties to create a cultural precinct for the Hastings City.
• Particularly innovative was the design and construction of New Zealand's first large-scale retractable roof.
• This roof covers a courtyard, making it suitable for events in all-weathers.
• LHTDesign worked with the fabricator, using yachting technology to detail the sail design and connections.
• The judges commended LHTDesign for their practical approach and dedication to the client's project.

Material Recovery Facility, Auckland by Tonkin & Taylor Ltd for Auckland City Council, Manukau City Council & Visy Recycling

Arthur Amputch from Tonkin & Taylor and Michael McQuillan of Auckland City Council accepted the award.

• The Material Recovery Facility is a joint project between the recycling. company, Visy, and both Auckland City Council and Manukau City Council. It is located in Onehunga
• It receives, sorts and prepares waste material for recycling.
• Tonkin & Taylor was responsible for the civil work in making the site, which is an old landfill, suitable for building.
• To overcome differential settlement of the landfill base, they put down piles to the bedrock beneath
• They sealed the landfill and protected the pile tops to avoid leakage of gas to the plant.
• The recycling facility is helping reduce the amount of waste to landfills, but would not have been possibly without the geotechnical expertise of Tonkin & Taylor.

Meridian Building, Site 7 Kumutoto Plaza, Wellington Waterfront - Building Services by Becafor DNZ Property Group, Wellington Waterfront & Meridian Energy

Mike Kerr accepted this award for Meridian Building.

• Meridian Building is a 5-star, Green Star building on Wellington's waterfront.
• Its environmental rating is largely due to the energy-efficient building services developed by Beca for the tenant, Meridian Energy.
• Special features include a vented, double façade, variable louvres for shading and ventilation, a chilled beam cooling system and a complex automated system for all lighting and heating.
• The work was very detailed and complex and, at the time of conception, very new to NZ.
• Over its operating life of just under two years, it has proved to have very low energy use.
• Beca's understanding of Environmentally Sustainable Design was important in realising the client's goal.

Ohope Escarpment Drainage Project by Tonkin & Taylor Ltd for Whakatane District Council

Costas Chryssafis from Tonkin & Taylor and Barbara Dempsey from Whakatane District Council accepted the award.

• Following damage in a severe storm in 2004, Ohope residents were concerned about the stability of the escarpment below their homes.
• Tonkin & Taylor investigated the situation and recommended piping of septic tank wastewater and stormwater down the escarpment, taking into account the environmental concerns of the community.
• They worked with contractor HEB Smithbridge to install drilled pipelines up the escarpment. Some of these drilled lines are up to 200m long, and are covered by up to 50m of soil and rock.
• The sewage is now piped to a pre-existing wastewater line at the foot of the cliff and the stormwater drains to stilling basins or onto the beach.
• This award recognises an excellent example of how the consultant and local authority can work together with the community, to achieve an innovative outcome.

Pitcairn Hill of Difficulty by Tonkin & Taylor Ltdfor British Government

Peter Miller from Tonkin & Taylor accepted the award.

• Pitcairn Island is very dependent on its small wharf, and the narrow, steep road that leads to it, for its contact with the outside world for trade, supplies and medical access.
• Tonkin & Taylor overcame many challenges in repairing this wharf and paving the road.
• Most of the hurdles were due to there being no construction resources on the island: all the equipment and materials had to be brought in; a quarry had to be re-established; and the labour force recruited from every able-bodied soul on the island.
• An innovative construction contract saw all equipment retained by the government for use by the island community in the future.
• This work has not only extended the life of the wharf and made the road accessible in all weathers, but it has made a substantial difference to the way Pitcairn sees itself in the world economy.

Processing Factory for Kanuka Engineered Wood Products by Structural Concepts LtdKanuka Engineered Wood Products Ltd

• Kanuka Engineered Wood Products, in Hastings wanted a processing building that showcased its own products.
• Structural Concepts have provided the structural design of the plant using wood for all the structural work.
• The roof is supported by ten trusses, spanning 60m, providing one of the largest clear span buildings in NZ. These are supported on double glulam wood columns.
• In order to make the building easier for a semi-skilled workforce to construct, Structural Concepts specified nail plates rather than bolts and put considerable thought into pre-fabrication.
• This small firm's excellent understanding of wood products and of what was available to use, was the key to the success of this project .

Stamford Residences by Aurecon for Stamford Property Services Pty Ltd

Shaun Barrett from Aurecon and Brad Luke from Peddle Thorp Architects accepted the award.

• This project is construction of 11 storeys onto the top of the existing 10-storey Stamford Hotel in central Auckland.
• Due to an innovative analysis and design approach, the extension in lightweight steel frame construction only required minimal structural strengthening of the existing building.
• Three tuned mass dampers at roof level control movement due to the building's response to strong wind effects.
• This award recognises Aurecon's foresight in showing their client that it is not always necessary to demolish an already good building to increase the height, substantially.

Wellington International Airport Southern Runway End Safety Area by Becafor Wellington International Airport Ltd

Michael Kerr from Beca and John Howarth from Wellington Airport accepted the award.

• Wellington airport runway was extended by 60m at each end to meet new international standards for the safety areas at the ends of the runway.
• The southern end safety area was complicated by needing to incorporate a road tunnel and to provide protection for landing instruments.
• The 180m long, curved tunnel was complex to allow for existing services, to not encroach into the airspace and to provide a safe alignment for the road.
• The new location for landing instruments was more exposed to sea spray and to stronger wind and jet blasts. Beca designed and tested special shields which are performing extremely well.
• Beca's understanding of airport work showed in this project.
• The project was very well managed and the design of the shields was a particular benefit for the client.

SILVER AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE:

A Silver Award is judged to be of a higher standard than the Merit award. The project shows technical innovation, and provides above excellent service to the client.

These projects are in alphabetical order:

Coromandel Eastern Seaboard Wastewater Treatment Plants by Opus International Consultants Ltd and Sinclair Knight Merz Ltd for Thames Coromandel District Council and Downer EDi Works

John Crawford from Opus, Richard Neate from Sinclair Knight Merz and Gorden Reynolds from Thames Coromandel District Council accepted the award.

• Future development in Whangamata, Whitianga and Pauanui/Tairua was being stifled because their wastewater treatment plants were at their capacity
• The project had proved hard for Thames Coromandel District Council to get off the ground until their in house engineer took on Opus to project manage this project.
• Opus undertook the investigation and prepared a business plan for the council to develop three, very similar plants at the three towns simultaneously. This had a number of economic benefits
• Downer EDi Works was appointed as contractor and engaged Sinclair Knight Merz as their design engineer for the plants.
• Opus International Consultants, Sinclair Knight Merz, Downer and the Council, together, made for an outstanding team which brought this difficult project to a successful conclusion. One of the judges commented that he thought the Whitianga plant was the best he had ever seen.

Environmental Choice New Zealand by Tonkin & Taylor Ltd for New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust

Marje Russ from Tonkin & Taylor accepted the award.

• Environmental Choice is the government's licensing body for environmental labelling. Companies can use registration to differentiate themselves in the marketplace as adhering to good environmental practices in production.
• Tonkin & Taylor has acted for ECNZ in an advisory role for many years. Their team has developed an expertise in defining the processes for licensing and for assessing products against these processes.
• Recently some of the NZ specifications have been held up internationally as World Best Practice - with considerable credit to ECNZ's consultants
• This project shows how a consultant can provide an on-going trusted, and skilled advisor role to greatly benefit their client

I nnovative Foundation System for the Gisborne Police Station by Opus International Consultants Ltd for New Zealand Police

Alexei Murashev from Opus and Annabel Bayes from NZ Police accepted the award.

• Based on their previous work on other police stations, Opus was selected as structural engineer for construction of a new police station in central Gisborne.
• This award is specifically for the foundation system which shows some innovation.
• The site is over soft alluvial material, and Opus chose to use a combination of a concrete raft foundation that "floats" over a polystyrene-filled basement, secured with screw piles up to 24m deep.
• This neat and cost-effective solution reduces settlement risk in the soft sediments.

Karangahake Gorge - Road Safety Improvement by Opus International Consultants for New Zealand Transport Agency

John Bowers from Opus and Colin Brodie from NZ Transport Agency accepted the award.

• Karangahake Gorge is a narrow winding section of State Highway from Paeroa to Waihi.
• NZ Transport Agency was looking to use a combination of Engineering, Education and Enforcement practices to reduce its unacceptably high accident rate
• Opus took up the challenge and combined the "3E" philosophy with an in house-developed "Crash Prediction model" to identify the areas to focus works.
• Apart from drilling a tunnel, there is very little room to make any engineering improvements and these were limited to some kerb work and trimming back some of the overhangs (that is, that the trucks had not done already).
• Driver education included promotions to truck drivers in the cafes, talking to school students, and some signage.
• Enforcement took the form of reduced speed zones and patrolling the gorge.
• The work has shown an appreciable improvement in the crash rate in the last three years, for relatively little investment. There is potential to extend the modeling work and "3E" measures over other routes in the country to great social benefit.

Northern Busway by Beca Infrastructure / Opus International Consultants Ltd and Aurecon for New Zealand Transport Agency

Richard Fallas from Opus, Brent Meekan from Beca, Steve Jenkins from Aurecon and Clive Fuhr from NZ Transport Agency accepted the award.

• This is the first dedicated busway in NZ
• It runs parallel to the motorway for some 6km north from the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
• The extended project includes the busway, and a number of park and ride stations, overall designed to encourage use of public transport.
• The work was divided into a northern section (by Aurecon) and southern section, (jointly by Beca and Opus).
• Considerable skill was needed to fit the busway into the available corridor, avoiding intrusion into neighbouring residential and school properties.
• Additional complexity was added with some difficult ground conditions along the route, such as an old landfill and estuaries.
• The judges "caught the bus" along the new busway and were very impressed with the comfortable ride. Most importantly NZ Transport Agency reports a 87% increase in bus use over the first year.

Oamaru Treatment Plant - Water Supply Upgrade by CPG (NZ) (formerly Duffill Watts) for Waitaki District Council

Anthony Steel from CPG NZ and Martin Pacey from Waitaki District Council accepted the aw ard.

• Oamaru wanted to bring their water treatment station up to standard, and to solve a problem with poor taste and odour.
• CPG undertook considerable testing to determine the most appropriate and effective type of treatment
• Un-influenced by any particular supplier, they tested the options in the laboratory and in a pilot plant.
• They selected and installed a combination of membrane filter and ozone treatment.
• A report in the newspaper just this month announced that the city has been awarded a AA rating for their water supply.
• A thorough construction job and additional work by the council to clean the distribution system has resulted in excellent water quality for the Oamaru supply from this dedicated team.

Spring Creek Underground Coal Mine Stage Two Extension Project Management by McNulty Engineering Management Limited for Solid Energy NZ

• Spring Creek coal mine is located on the West Coast, in a very remote valley.
• With very little prior knowledge of mining operations, Deane McNulty took on the role of Project Manager to coordinate work to get the extensions to Spring Creek Mine operational within an 18 month period.
• The work included design, procurement, fabrication and tunnelling; as well as plant installation and commissioning contracts.
• The project management was based on Solid Energy's un-tested protocols and these were developed and refined these as the project progressed, delivering a number of improvements.
• Deane McNulty's excellent organisational abilities and understanding of safety issues brought the project to a close under budget and within 2 weeks of the deadline
• This small firm provided an excellent service to his client and earned the respect of all the contractors.

St. Patrick's Cathedral Conservation and Refurbishment by Aurecon for Catholic Bishop of Auckland

Craig Stevenson from Aurecon and Kerry Coleman from Auckland Catholic Diocese accepted the award.

• St Patrick's Cathedral is one of NZ's oldest buildings and was in a very poor state of repair before this project
• Aurecon provided structural services for strengthening and refurbishment which included: strengthening foundations, strengthening the walls, repairs to the roof and to the bell tower.; plus installing fire, electrical and ventilation services
• The strengthening has been done very well and is unobtrusive. The finishing is excellent and has restored the interior to its former grandeur
• The restoration has rejuvenated this lovely building in a very high profile location right in the centre of Auckland

Te Puni Village, Victoria University of Wellington by Aurecon for Victoria University of Wellington

Sean Gledhill from Aurecon and Andrew Croskery from Wareham Cameron and Co accepted the award.

• This award is for structural design of three university halls of residence on the Victoria University campus. The tallest is 11 storeys.
• They represent a step forward in damage avoidance engineering design, which was particularly requested by the client.
• Aurecon drew on previous experience and installed sliding hinge beam-column joints, combined with concentrically braced transverse frames that rely on spring-tensioned hold-down at the base of the columns and sliding joint coupling beams to prevent bucking and to avoid structural damage
• These features are significant industry developments which will give designers new options in seismic design philosophy

GOLD AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE:

These select few awards are made to projects that the judges considered to be the cream of both technical and consulting excellence. In all of these projects there is a considerable degree of technical innovation and the consultant has provided an outstanding service to the client. These are projects that stand out for a generation.

Paul Reed of the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia was asked to come forward to present the gold awards.

These projects are in alphabetical order:

Northern Gateway Toll Road by URS NZ Ltd and Tonkin & Taylor Ltd (on behalf of The Northern Gateway Alliance) for NZ Transport Agency

Noel Nancekivell from URS and Peter Millar from Tonkin & Taylor and Kevin Doherty from NZ transport Agency accepted the award.

• The Northern Gateway Toll road - The best road in New Zealand!
• URS and Tonkin & Taylor were the two ACENZ members within the wider Alliance which also included NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan, Leighton Contractors and Boffa Miskell.
• Everything about this project was massive: big excavations; big structures; big budget; big problems to overcome.
• The investigation, selection of the route, design of structures and attention to detail in their construction was all excellent.
• Special features include the twin tunnels through Johnstone Hill; three large viaducts, plus smaller bridges and interchanges.
• The judges made special mention of the attention paid to environmental protection in this project. In particular the design of the eco-viaducts
• The choices made by the Alliance in completing this project were the key to its technical, environmental and social success. They have raised the bar in engineering and environmental excellence

Owen G. Glenn Building - University of Auckland New Business School by Beca for University of Auckland

Richard Built from Beca accepted the award.

• This is a very complex building, requiring outstanding structural design solutions and innovation.
• So complex was the unique architectural design that Beca was asked to do a feasibility study before even starting the structural design.
• They were asked to make it work and they stepped up to the mark.
• There was considerable complexity from the ground up. The basement design had to be modified to account for unstable ground
• The very unusual floorplan led to some complex structural design solutions for cantilevered ends of the building, atrium bridges and the main entry foyer.
• This complexity was compounded by changes to the requirements partway into the job.
• This award recognizes a combination of innovations in structural design to deliver a technically excellent and visually stunning building

Wanganui District Council Bridge 47, Mangamahu Road by Holmes Consulting Group for Concrete Structures (NZ) Ltd

Phil Gaby from Holmes Consulting Group and Mike Romans from Concrete Structures accepted the award.

• This award is for a small but elegant bridge north of Wanganui
• It replaces a bridge washed out by floods in 2006
• Holmes Consulting Group was consultant to Concrete Solutions which was the successful contractor to this Wanganui District Council project.
• Together they proposed an alternative design that was cheaper and more streamlined than the original design, reduced additional work on the road approaches and was very efficient in use of materials.
• This "network arch bridge" is a design previously used overseas but is the first example in New Zealand.
• Holmes Consulting Group did extensive computer analysis of the structure. They developed several design tools specifically for this project.
• It uses less steel than conventional bridges and was very economical to build .
• Although small, this elegant structure was a credit to the contractor and to Holmes Consulting

 

ACENZ congratulates those involved with all of these projects for work well done.

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