witness the fitness

Constructing a four-storey sports complex within a hillside presented main building contractor Gibson O'Connor with a number of engineering challenges.

One of the first of these was a major piling exercise to retain the 45o bank, says director Gavin Brannigan.

"This involved reinforcing, forming and pouring the in situ infills to the piles while excavating down 24m. In all, 10,000m³ of earth needed to be moved."

Careful consideration was also given to the erection, propping and protection of the prefinished exposed concrete panels which are a feature of the circulation areas within the building. Most of the panels weigh more than 13 tonnes and had to be erected while constructing the foundations during the early stages of the project without damaging the exposed aggregate panel finish.

"A milestone for me was the erection of the front facade wall. To mitigate some of the time lost due to wet weather, we assembled the east wall structural steel in the adjacent lower car park. After prefixing the timber framing and plywood sarking, the structural wall was carefully lifted into place in three huge sections using a 60 tonne crawler crane. By the end of the day the wall was finished, with the exception of the zinc cladding. Planning, precision set-out and expert rigging made this activity a huge success," Brannigan says.

Gibson O'Connor employs and trains direct labour to carry out all in situ concrete and carpentry framing and finishing. In this way, the firm ensures the quality of the finished product delivered to clients.

For details, contact Gibson O'Connor, PO Box 11200, Ellerslie, Auckland 1542, phone (09) 570 3300, fax (09) 570 3301. Email: g.brannigan@goc.co.nz. Website: www.gibsonoconnor.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas