Eight Christchurch finalists heading to engineering awards

Eight Christchurch finalists heading to the NZ Engineering Excellence Awards

Eight Christchurch projects have been nominated as finalists in this year’s New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards, making up almost half of the nineteen finalists in the overall Projects and Products category.

“The New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards acknowledge outstanding leadership and innovation in the field of engineering,” explains Kieran Devine, Interim Chief Executive of IPENZ, one of the eight partner organisations hosting the awards.

“This year we have nineteen finalists in the Projects and Products categories of awards and six other finalists for community engagement and safety in engineering. Being selected as a finalist is a great achievement in itself - it’s going to be tough on the judges!” Kieran adds.

The eight Christchurch finalists, outlined below, cover themes from earthquake resistant building design, refrigeration, sewage and wastewater management, and several projects relating to different aspects of Christchurch Airport.

“These nominations are not only examples of local leadership and innovation, but also the impact engineering has on our daily life – solving very challenging real world problems, improving health, hygiene, and the sustainability of the cities we call home. Engineers truly shape the world we live in,” Kieran says.

The awards take place on Friday 28 November 2014, with winners being announced that evening at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland.

An overview of each of the eight Christchurch finalists is provided below.

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The Christchurch finalists are:
• A PRESSS-Lam Assertion: Applying post-tensioned steel tendons to laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams to create earthquake resistant multi-story building structures – the steel tendons in the beams act like giant rubber bands to pull the structure back into place after seismic activity. Provider: Kirk Roberts Consulting Engineers
• Cashin Quay 1: Establishing a new earthquake resistant structure to allow shipping, and coal exports in particular, to continue through the Port of Lyttleton throughout the period of the earthquakes. Damage to the previous Cashin Quay 1 coal berth meant it could no longer safely support the 200-tonne coal loader and the June 2011 quake required further modifications to the design.Providers: Opus International Consultants Ltd.
• Christchurch Airport Artesian Heating: Using artesian water to provide heating and cooling for the new Christchurch Airport. The new terminal occupies 18 per cent more spaces but this system has reduced the energy usage per square metre by 17 per cent.Provider: Beca.
• Christchurch Airport Tarmac: Using a pavement sealer sourced from a specific resin in Utah for the first time in Australasia to reseal the entire tarmac at Christchurch Airport. 820,000 square metres of tarmac was resealed during summer 2014 and has reduced maintenance costs and flight interruptions, added an 17-20 years of life to the tarmac, and is expected to reduce expenses by 46 percent over the next 50 years. Providers: Christchurch International Airport Ltd, AECOM NZ Ltd, Fulton Hogan Ltd
• Christchurch Bio-Solids: Development of a thermal drying plant to convert around 5,000 tonnes of wastewater solids into bio solids that are then used to rehabilitate mined areas of land. Providers: CH2M Beca and Christchurch City Council
• Selwyn Sewage Scheme: design and construction of New Zealand’s first solar air drying hall that resolved the challenge of sludge disposal and processing, allowing 4,000 Selwyn households to be taken off Christchurch’s already stressed sewage system and saving over $250,000 per year. Providers: MWH New Zealand Ltd & Selwyn District Council.
• SKOPE Cooler for Coca Cola: Development of a new cooler technology for Coca Cola in Australasia that replaces chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) with much more environmentally friendly carbon dioxide design. Provider: SKOPE Industries Ltd.
• Three35 Office: Using replaceable-link steel frames (called Eccentrically Braced Frames) to create earthquake resistant building frames - based on the concept of replaceable fuses on the home switchboard. Provider: Ruamoko Solutions

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