2024 ACE Awards finalists
The ACE Awards celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s best consultants in engineering and professional services and showcase the exceptional mahi ACE members do for communities here and overseas. The awards recognise the consultants who go above and beyond ‘business as usual’ to deliver projects and initiatives that make a difference to people’s lives.
Projects will be awarded gold, silver or merit based on the level of achievement, how much the project has exceeded expectations and whether it sets a new industry standard. Judges may also present special awards where there is a unique contribution to the industry or community.
This year’s ACE Awards Gala, sponsored by Beca, will be held at 7pm on Thursday 24 October, day two of the Futurespace conference, at the Issac Theatre Royal in Christchurch.
Finalists
Auckland Zoo: South East Asia Jungle Track Project
Consultant: Jacobs
Client: Auckland Zoo
Taking zoo experiences to the next level, the South East Asia Jungle Track covers approximately one-fifth of Auckland Zoo’s visitor area and provides immersive habitats and visitor amenities for young and old alike to experience and enjoy.
The entire habitat design was driven by the science of animal care and was the product of consultation with international zoo specialists, curators, zookeepers and veterinarians. This collaboration was essential for the project team to understand animal behaviors and then develop innovative, bespoke engineering solutions to reflect the animals' natural habitat.
Jacobs is recognised for the bespoke engineering solutions developed to respond to the behaviours of the animals in the habitat, with materials, structural strength and environmental conditions designed, specified and installed to reflect nature with animal welfare and visitor safety at the front and centre of the design.
Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant
Consultant: GHD
Client: Waipa District Council
The Waipa District Council sought to collaboratively develop and consent a long-term wastewater treatment solution for Cambridge. The council’s objective was to foster shared decision making, acknowledge kaitiakitanga (guardianship) principles, honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and implement co-management practices to uphold the best-for-river outcomes under Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato (the vision and strategy for the Waikato River).
GHD was appointed to guide and assist the council to navigate its way through the consenting process to obtain a 35-year discharge consent for the project.
The approach resulted in the successful co-design of the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant consenting, seamless endorsement of resource consents, smooth approvals processes, establishment of a Mātauranga Matariki framework, and attainment of a 35-year resource consent without the need for a formal council hearing. This saved significant money for Waipa and enabled early commencement of construction activities.
GHD is recognised for its delivery of an outstanding RMA consenting and engagement process within a co-design framework.
Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery Projects - Pan Pac and Ravensdown
Consultant: Artifex Engineering
Client: Ravensdown and Pan Pac Forest Products
In February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay. Ravensdown’s Napier fertiliser plant and Pan Pac Forest Products’ Whirinaki site were inundated with floodwaters, silt, and debris. While damage was extensive, the real impact on both businesses and their stakeholders was the total loss of production until repairs could be affected.
For Pan Pac, early indications were that the rebuild cost was going to exceed $100 million, and that there would be approximately 12 months of lost operation with 450 staff and contractors adversely affected. For Ravensdown, this was the second major blow to its Napier plant, having only become operational two weeks' prior due to a fire that took it out of operation for three months.
Artifex is recognised for its leadership in bringing together disparate organisations of client personnel, consultants and contractors into coherent and unified teams, engaging with third parties using unique procurement processes, and leading health and safety for the recovery effort.
Defence Estate and Infrastructure Alliance
Consultant: Beca and GHD
Client: Defence Estate and Infrastructure, New Zealand Defence Force
Stretching across more than 81,000 hectares, the Defence Estate includes everything from housing, barracks, gyms, libraries, maintenance workshops, medical facilities, roads, runways, and infrastructure such as water, power and fuel. Most importantly, the Defence Estate is where New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel work, live and train.
What makes the Defence Estate and Infrastructure (DEI) alliance unique is the way the infrastructure is delivered. It is a nationwide portfolio alliance, and resources have been augmented at an organisational level into every business group within the DEI.
The DEI alliance is an exemplar of strategic collaboration, working cohesively to manage an ambitious, nationwide portfolio with foresight and exceptional skill. This integrated approach has consistently delivered outcomes that surpass expectations, demonstrating a shared excellence in service.
Beca and GHD are recognised for their role in the alliance, which has delivered value, transformed how NZDF manages its Defence Estate, seen multiple projects move into procurement and construction, and, ultimately, realised benefits for all NZDF personnel.
Invercargill Central
Consultant: Holmes
Client: Invercargill Central
Invercargill Central is a visionary new commercial hub for Invercargill in the city centre. It comprises 47 retail tenancies, a childcare centre, five restaurant tenancies, four office tenancies and four levels of parking. An integrated, nine-storey commercial office building is located on a prominent corner adding prime commercial space and creating a new landmark on the skyline.
Holmes was appointed as the fire engineering consultant. Its role was to develop a fire engineering strategy for Building Code compliance, provide fire design input commensurate and to monitor and guide the implementation. A key challenge was the delivery of staged construction and progressive opening. This project was incredibly dynamic, with project design changing frequently and rapidly as land was acquired and tenants were secured or lost.
Holmes is recognised for proactively developing, managing and delivering a fire engineering strategy in a collaborative manner, which was flexible and responsive to construction and development needs.
Manganui Gorge Suspension Bridge
Consultant: DC Structures Studio
Client: Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC), as part of the Taranaki Crossing Project, wanted consultants to design, consent and deliver a 1.2 metre-wide suspension bridge with an approximate span of 90 metres across the Manganui Gorge.
DC Structures Studio responded to the challenge by combining in-house engineering and architectural expertise to show DOC what “the next level” of design looks like, and then left a legacy of methods and knowledge in place for it to use and elevate all of its projects into the future.
In doing so, DC Structures successfully doubled the asset’s design life at no additional cost, and reduced live loading by 30 percent, eliminating the need for load restrictions while implementing state-of-the-art national and international design practices.
DC Structures Studio is recognised for adding significant consulting value to DOC’s business, delivering exceptional value for money, and sharing its methods, innovations, and design developments with DOC.
Marlborough Roads Recovery Programme
Consultant: Stantec
Client: Marlborough District Council
Maintaining community connections is challenging when areas are hit by multiple significant storm events. Since July 2021, Marlborough has been dramatically impacted by these events. Roads were impassable for months following each event and some are still under restrictions today. These events have impacted over 2,000 permanent residents, 2,600 property owners who live outside Marlborough, more than 150 businesses, and over 2,000 visitors to the area.
The Sounds Recovery is one of the largest local roads recovery projects for Aotearoa New Zealand, and, prior to Cyclone Gabrielle, was second only to the Christchurch earthquake recovery.
Appointed in 2021, Stantec is recognised for the support and assurance it provided, its stakeholder and community engagement, and its outstanding work developing the Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study Programme Business Case. This was the first business case developed for reinstatement of existing roading infrastructure.
Omāroro Reservoir
Consultant: Holmes
Client: Wellington Water
Enhancing the resilience of Wellington's water supply is challenging. A key resilience project has been the development of the 35 million-litre Omāroro reservoir to double the drinking water storage capacity of Wellington's CBD and eastern suburbs. This makes the Wellington water supply more resilient to potential interruption and disaster. The reservoir, situated within the inner Town Belt, supplies water to approximately 70,000 residents, including the regional hospital and other important community, commercial and industrial facilities.
Holmes was engaged by HEB Construction to provide an innovative and cost-effective alternative design solution, which satisfied or exceeded Wellington Water’s resilience requirements. The key was the design decision to allow the reservoir to slide and move in a big earthquake, rather than take the traditional approach of locking the structure down.
Holmes is recognised for its innovative approach, which resulted in the reservoir being in operation a year earlier than planned and delivered cost savings of $9 million.
Project Kahikatea: Fonterra Waitoa Biomass Boiler
Consultant: Aurecon
Client: Fonterra Co-operative Group
As part of its journey to a low emission manufacturer, Fonterra initiated Project Kahikatea. This involved the construction of a new 30 MW bubbling fluid bed biomass boiler at its Waitoa site to replace an existing coal boiler due to asset condition. The new boiler has a significant impact on Fonterra’s annual emissions, reducing them by 48,000 tonnes of CO2e per annum.
The project required delivery within a tight timeframe due to the condition of the existing coal-fired boiler plant, and to allow commissioned assets to be available for the new operational season.
Aurecon supported this project from concept phase through project gating and lead roles in project execution. Its knowledge of Fonterra's site services and requirements allowed the consulting team to integrate the new biomass boiler into the site with minimal operational disruption.
Aurecon is recognised for its innovative design and construction methodology, excellence in project delivery and collaboration.
Project Recharge
Consultant: Aurecon
Client: Mataura Valley Milk
Project Recharge is a partnership with Mataura Valley Milk (MVM) to realise the complete electrification of its dairy processing site in Southland. The project has made MVM the first dairy factory in New Zealand to have 100 percent steam generation through a high-pressure electric boiler – a significant milestone for the industrial energy transition.
Aurecon was appointed to assist MVM to tackle the ambitious goal of converting 100 percent of its steam generation to electric. This will effectively displace coal from the site and achieve a reduction in GHG emissions of 22,000 tCO2e per year. Project Recharge plays directly into the New Zealand Emission Reduction plan, which aims to establish a sustainable, secure, and affordable energy system for a low-emissions economy.
Aurecon is recognised for its excellence in identifying and de-risking the application of this technology, the development of the business case and the delivery of client-side project management and governance support during construction and commissioning.
Project SH25A Taparahi Bridge
Consultant: Tonkin + Taylor and Beca
Client: McConnell Dowell and Fulton Hogan
Reconnecting communities safely and quickly following natural disasters is critical. Following the major weather events in 2023 that destroyed 120 metres of State Highway 25A in the Coromandel, the crucial road link became inaccessible.
Coming up with a delivery solution that enabled the bridge spanning the slip area to be designed and safely constructed in just seven months, the SH25A Taparahi Slip remediation project has set a new benchmark for our industry. The response delighted the local community and holidaymakers, and contributed an estimated $69 million increase in tourism expenditure to the region.
This project is a clear example of what can be achieved through having a clear purposeful goal, bringing together people with established trusted relationships, and a commitment to deliver because no one wanted to let the side down.
Tonkin + Taylor and Beca are recognised for their design and investigation agility, collaborative solution focus expertise and innovation.
Retail Quarter
Consultant: AECOM
Client: Dunedin City Council
Ōtepoti Dunedin’s historic retail precinct, George Street, has undergone its first makeover in over a generation to create a more people-friendly space, improving accessibility and transforming the experience of the inner city for visitors.
A key driver for the project was to replace underground infrastructure at the end of its life. Dunedin’s three waters infrastructure within the Retail Quarter area, being up to 150 years old, had reached the end of its useful life. Being part of the city centre that has developed over time, the three waters assets are within a corridor that is extremely constricted with utilities. AECOM undertook a collaborative approach and designed innovative solutions to overcome the challenges and provide resilience for the community by renewing these assets.
AECOM is recognised for its engagement and consultation processes, contribution to the development of the business case, and its technical innovation and excellence in developing and delivering value for money infrastructure solutions.
Sleepyhead Estate Geotechnical Engineering Services
Consultant: Initia
Client: The Comfort Group
Development of ‘Sleepyhead Estate’ has been a long-term goal for brothers Craig and Graeme Turner, third generation of The Comfort Group (Sleepyhead), who wish to give back to New Zealand alongside establishing a brand-new manufacturing plant for their operations.
The project commenced in 2018 and involved the transformation of marginal land in Ohinewai, Waikato into a viable site for the construction of an industrial hub, quality housing stock, social services and facilities, along with a network of high-quality open spaces.
Initia was engaged from day one during the due diligence phase for the land purchase. It shouldered the considerable responsibility of providing the geotechnical due diligence, discovering what the land consisted of in real terms, determining what risks it entailed, and outlining in broad terms the viability of construction.
Initia is recognised for its innovation, technical expertise, and communication and engagement skills in delivering solutions, which have turned a marginal site into viable land for development.
Tairāwhiti Wairoa and Hawke's Bay Resilience Strategic Responses
Consultant: Commute Transportation Consultants
Client: NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle in 2023 resulted in loss of life and isolation of East Coast communities. Commute was engaged by the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to identify the rebuild response required to right size the scale and response to the rebuild of the State Highway network.
Commute responded in an agile manner working alongside NZTA to ensure the response to the disaster was swift, effective and resilient. It developed and delivered the first application of NZTA’s national resilience framework to ensure the response to the disaster was appropriately scaled and prioritised, and pioneered a new option assessment approach at a programme level.
This innovative approach resulted in the work being undertaken in three months, not the typical nine to twelve months of a business-as-usual approach. The approaches developed have now been applied in other areas, including the Coromandel and Northland.
Commute is recognised for its innovation and technical expertise used to accelerate the reconnection of people and communities.
Temporary Decant Ward Wellington Hospital
Consultant: Aurecon
Client: Health New Zealand and Kensway Consultants
Wellington Hospital has an ongoing programme of works replacing copper piping within its wards. In November 2022, an unexpected change in the availability of spaces planned for decant wards in the Wellington Regional Hospital was advised.
This left the hospital and project team with a problem. The reallocation of space to the high dependency unit occurred late in 2022, and the interlinked programmes of development required that decanting space was available from the start of 2024, for up to three years or longer.
Dependent, sequential programmes meant an entire new 12-bed ward project had to be completed and commissioned within 12 months. Aurecon’s solution was a pre-fabricated ward installed on the top of an existing four-storey building.
Aurecon is recognised for its innovative problem solving, collaboration and engagement with stakeholders and regulators, and its “make it happen” approach.
The Power of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
Consultant: Abley
Client: Ballance Agri-Nutrients
Ballance Agri-Nutrients (Ballance) is a New Zealand farmer-owned co-operative. Its core business is supply and manufacture of fertilisers and nutrients to New Zealand farmers along with the delivery of a range of science-based nutrient products and services that are tailored to the needs of the specific farm and farmer.
Ballance offers farmers access to its award-winning online farm systems software, which captures and analyses the information from farmers to enable informed farming and management decisions.
In today's competitive market, releasing software with confidence, quality, and minimum downtime is crucial for businesses aiming to stay ahead. Practices such as Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) help to achieve these goals.
Abley is recognised for its development of a CI/CD capability at Ballance that continues to grow with the needs of the business, protecting all the previous gains of the co-operative's platform, while giving it confidence to extend the platform in future with increased agility and lower release costs.
The Tāhekerua/Sharplin Falls Walkway Bridges
Consultant: Engineering Design Consultants
Client: Mount Somers Walkways Society
Tāhekerua/Sharplin Falls have long been a favoured day outing for the people of Mid Canterbury. A popular walkway had wound its way up the Bowyers Stream to the Tāhekerua/Sharplin Falls. However, rockfalls during the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 had forced a closure. A risk assessment by the Department of Conservation had deemed the walkway unsafe, resulting in a permanent closure.
Understanding the importance of the walkway to the local community, the Mount Somers Walkways Society began to investigate options for a new track to the falls. Its investigations determined that two bridge crossings would be required and initiated the project. Engineering Design Consultants (EDC) provided essential support in navigating the complexities of the project.
As a community-funded project, the bridges needed to be durable but cost effective and fit into the landscape. EDC’s consulting practices, which focus on community-centric and sustainable solutions, helped align the engineering requirements with the community’s vision for a durable and aesthetically pleasing walkway.
The result is an outstanding community asset. The people of Canterbury have swarmed to the track, with more than 1,000 users on some days. Society members have contributed more than 4,500 hours of voluntary hard labour and sweat into construction of the track and the bridge access. EDC’s business-as-usual consulting facilitated this incredible outcome by providing the engineering support to bring the community's vision to life.
Vanuatu Energy Access Project
Consultant: Stantec
Client: Vanuatu Project Management
Located in the South Pacific ocean, the Republic of Vanuatu consists of approximately 80 islands stretching over 1,300km. Since 2000, access to electricity has increased from 20 percent to 70 percent. One of the islands without large areas electrified was the island of Malekula, specifically the northwest, including 11 village communities.
In 2015, the Asian Development Bank commissioned a feasibility study that identified renewable energy opportunities on the island of Malekula and the Energy Access Project was initiated. Stantec was appointed as the advisor to develop and deliver the project. Construction started in 2021.
Over the past three years, the project has faced many challenges, including COVID-19’s impacts on New Zealand and Vanuatu, cyclones, land and social disputes, government cyber-attacks, airline strikes, shipping availability and cost increases, inflation, landowner challenges, and occasional earthquakes.
Stantec is recognised for its commitment and effort to support the Vanuatu Project Management Unit, the contractor and the community through these challenges to get the project across the line, delivering significant community benefits.
Wellington Rail Corridor: Slope & Structural Health Monitoring
Consultant: WSP
Client: KiwiRail Holdings
Safety and reliability of the commuter rail network in Wellington is paramount. After a night of heavy rainfall in August 2021, KiwiRail’s North Island main trunk suffered a slip south of Paekākāriki on the Kapiti Coast derailing two commuter carriages. These events, coupled with multiple slips over a stretch of 25 kilometres between Paekākāriki and Plimmerton in 2022, resulted in KiwiRail imposing a 40kph restriction to mange safety and risk.
WSP’s research and innovation centre was engaged to develop and implement a real-time monitoring system. The result is a comprehensive, integrated monitoring system that provides accurate, real-time data, which can operate in a hostile environment without mains power and limited WiFi. This required modifying sensoring, battery, and camera systems along with developing a back-end viewable in real-time by train control and nominated personnel.
WSP is recognised for its innovation and technical excellence, which enables KiwiRail to maintain safe, efficient, and reliable railway services.
Wellington Rail Operations Centre: Preliminary Design and Advisory
Consultant: WSP
Client: KiwiRail Holdings
Imagine designing a space capable of housing a combined 100-plus strong network and access control team who, in a typical week, manage movement of 900 freight trains, 2,500 metro trains in Auckland, and 2,000 metro trains in Wellington. That’s the challenge WSP’s human factors and architecture teams found themselves in while working with KiwiRail in developing their new Wellington Rail Operations Centre (WROC).
To address these challenges, WSP’s human factors' team joined forces with KiwiRail stakeholders in developing innovative ways to meet the brief. WSP’s team leveraged human-centered design and socio-technical systems, with the new design shaped around specific operators' requirements.
WSP, in bringing human-centric design practices to the table have delivered an outstanding consulting experience through stakeholder-led design. The WROC is an example of a real-life user-informed, user-driven design, combining human factors, science, engineering, and architecture to deliver a space that exceeds every expectation.
Tickets
A ticket to the ACE Awards Gala is included in any full registration for the Futurespace conference.
Individual tickets are $235 plus GST and tables of ten are $2,350 plus GST. Each ticket includes a three-course meal, drinks and live entertainment.
Ticket sales close on Wednesday 9 October.