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Open office floor areas can be achieved by a variety of structural options. For the Air New Zealand building, a reinforced concrete two-way frame system was selected. Tony Galavazi, project engineer for Holmes Consulting Group, says this was the optimum structural engineering solution for this project.

"Holmes Consulting worked within the design team to find an innovative and cost-effective structure that would meet the architectural requirements," he says. "This system allows the basement carpark to operate effectively with concrete-filled steel tube sections used as columns to support the building above. It also produces an efficient carpark layout."

Galavazi says the services in the basement carpark were carefully co-ordinated to fit around, and sometimes through, the reinforced concrete beams. A combination of haunched beams and beam penetrations were used to accommodate the carpark exhaust system. In the upper levels, haunched precast concrete beams were used to create room for mechanical services while maintaining structural depth where required. This provided greater flexibility for the services trades and eliminated the need for beam penetrations.

Galavazi says the external concrete cladding features were carefully designed and detailed to achieve the desired architectural appearance, while at the same time allowing a quick and simple construction.

"The collaborative approach of the entire design team helped achieve this result," he says.

Holmes Consulting Group also provided structural design advice to the internal fit-out architect and the external signage contractor to ensure a continuity of structural knowledge throughout the project.

"This allowed effective decision-making with respect to the parties interacting with the base build project," says Galavazi.

For further details, contact Holmes Consulting Group, phone (09) 965 4789. Or visit the website: www.holmesgroup.com.

Story by: Trendsideas