what lies beneath

Built to allow internal flexibility and to save costs, the steel portal frames in the Hobsonville schools followed a relatively simple form but at the same time, the sculptural roof lines required an extremely high level of engineering dexterity.

George Grant Engineerin built and erected the steel portal frames for both schools, including the internal frames for the roof cowlings on the primary school, says commercial manager Cameron Delacey.

"Over 220 tonnes of structural steel went into the primary school and 500 tonnes into the secondary school, making this the largest education project we have worked on," says Delacey.

"The project was relatively straightforward, except where the frame meets the angled roof lines. This took some back-and-forth tweaking between us and the architects to make everything work."

Even though the secondary school is larger, it also flowed more smoothly, as the two schools have a similar structural make-up and any design issues were already resolved after the completion of the primary school.

For details, contact George Grant Engineering, PO Box 142, Takanini, South Auckland 2245, phone +64 9 295 0550, fax +64 9 298 9909. Email: tenders@gge.co.nz, website: www.gge.co.nz

Story by: Trendsideas