Buller George Turkington - Newsletter - November 2001

Thursday, Nov 1, 2001

Putting things in perspective

Buller George Turkington (formerly R J Wass & Partners and Wass Buller & Associates) have been designing buildings for over 30 years. Over that time, the New Zealand Standards have been under constant review. Even the simple task of designing a concrete floor has changed. The primary concern used to be the strength of the floor in resisting live loads. The 1974 loadings code introduced some new seismic provisions that meant the floor needed to have adequate diaphragm strength and ductility. Then as floors became more refined the deflection of the floors needed careful consideration.

The availability of new software has enabled floor design to take into account the extra ponding weight of the concrete, the shrinkage and creep of the concrete and the partial composite action of shear studs. This increased sophistication has meant that lighter weight floors and longer spans are possible - and also brought the issue of floor vibrations to the fore. Many factors influence human sensitivity to floor vibration under walking or traffic excitation. This includes the magnitude and duration of the motion, the person's activity, the damping provided by floor finishes and partitions, the local environment surrounding the person and the cumulative psychological response. Where is this leading us to - expect more on this for years to come!

John Buller

News

Without the demand of the America's Cup, Buller George Turkington may never have uncovered the expertise of structural engineer David Turkington. David was pushed to the max by the need to fastrack the seismic strengthening of the Princes Wharf in time for the festivities, celebrities and enormous spectator support that surrounded this showcase event.

His determination paid off as he subsequently won the Young Achiever Award and gained a highly commended for projects $10M and over in the New Zealand Institute of Building / James Hardie Awards for Excellence in the Building Professions.

Lead architect Colin Leuscke is quick to point to the significance of the Princes Wharf in terms of local talent, "Princes Wharf is an absolutely one off development that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world - it is engineered, designed and developed by local talent, the result being that it reflects what we are, not what we should be. There were no precedents sought, concepts weren't hijacked from overseas and the extremely positive / successful outcome is a tribute to everyone involved as well as those who ensured it happened this way".

The arrival of the Americas Cup down under also gave Kitchener Group the chance to revitalise the series of concrete sheds transforming them into a grandstand for viewing the glories of the Waitemata Harbour. The seaward end sheds were demolished to make way for 2 x 8 story buildings, one of which now hosts the Hilton Hotel, while the total redevelopment boasts 300 residential apartments, 14,000 sqm commercial space, 680 car parks as well as cafes and restaurants.

The original structure was robust and could withstand the impact of railway tracks, carriages and loads that were without parallel at that time. Seismic loads however were not given consideration during the early 1900's making the structure fall well short of today's Building Code.

To meet the requirements of today's Building Code 15 new groups of raking piles - as seen in the schematic picture (below right) were fixed to the underside of the wharf via energy dissipaters. This seismic strengthening meant that the 2000 existing piles were untouched.

Shop till you drop

The huge growth of shopping centres continues to be a mainstay for Buller George Turkington with the completion of Botany Town Centre offering the latest shop till you drop experience. Once again, the finished result offers enormous appeal with the finishing touches of high quality fixtures and fittings creating a blaze of style, excitement and shopper delight.

The single level retail complex extends over 17.5 hectares and has 128 specialty tenants, 13 large format tenants and 2 major tenants. Botany

The design ran parallel with construction. This enabled the designers to combine the structural expertise of Buller George Turkington with the builders Mainzeal Construction and the Architects, Hames Sharley to achieve a ready to build economic structure.

According to Philip Littlejohn, Project Manager, Bovis Lend Lease; "When construction is already in progress, the consistency in quality and timeliness of delivery of the structural information is critical. Buller George Turkington were exceptional in this environment, providing the necessary resources and expertise to ensure that all necessary deadlines were achieved."

Westcity Shoppingtown Henderson

- Structural Steel Performs

The arrival of Westfield properties in 1999 brought fresh expertise to the construction of shopping malls in this country. Driven by the household shopping calendar, Christmas and other consumer celebrations, project completion dates have to run smoothly into sales action with minimal transition time. The results are typically astounding with the glamour of opening day lasting for months if not years. Structural steel was considered the most appropriate building material because it provided flexibility for future proofing and constructive simplicity.

Buller George Turkington used its 3 dimensional design and drafting software to generate the engineering drawings that are electronically transmitted to the shop detailer. According to Randell Patten, Project Design Administrator "3D structural drawings added the design and construction team by detecting and resolving difficult areas of the building well in advance of construction and minimising delays on site".

Engineering the track

Buller George Turkington were proud to sponsor Elizabeth Orchard, who, at only 15, was selected to join the New Zealand team of 14 to go to the World Youth (under 18, for those of us with real maturity!) Track and Field Championships in Hungary.

The first stop was Surfers for a week spent training and competing with Australia and Oceania. Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary was host to the main even where a week was spent training and acclimatising to the 40° + temperatures.

Elizabeth competed in the 1500M against athletes from 36 countries. She achieved a personal best time of 4.30.79 and is ranted # 1 in New Zealand for the under 18-year age group.

We congratulate her efforts and hope to see her sporting successes continue.

Designing a showcase for criterion

Criterion Furniture is a progressive furniture manufacturing company that has been based in East Tamaki for over 20 years. The client brief specified a new manufacturing facility to be attached to the existing building together with a new office complex to accommodate all the administrative functions.

According to Matt Chaplin from Sumich Architects, street presence, visual impact and a dynamic appeal for international guest and buyers were the main criteria for the building architecture.

Designed around a central atrium - this circular drum gave reference to the Criterion company logo - a cam. The drum also promotes a visual connection through the building and encourages the mix of all personnel from office to factory.

Sumich Architects Ltd and Buller George Turkington worked closely from the inception of the project to resolve specific design details such as the concrete curved stair in the entry and the large gantry in the warehouse.

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