At the University of Canterbury, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has long been recognised as having great potential for making a major impact on the New Zealand economy.
One way to harness this potential is through a national ICT teaching and research facility that functions as a bridge between not only academic disciplines but also commercial research and development communities.
Sub-assemblies 18m long are welded together on site to give a homogeneous appearance
Warren and Mahoney Architects Ltd was engaged through a competitive tender process and conceived of a building that would be both very public and welcoming while at the same time indicating that it is a critical point of contact between the business community and the university. Graeme Finlay, one of the architects, says: “It’s a simple, two-storey, structurally driven container that is substantially and traditionally built but is lightly “held” above its site on four principal connections. The tectonic directness of the expressed steel and concrete is a deliberate exploration of doing old things in a new way. In a sense, NZi³, (NZI cubed, as it’s been dubbed), has a responsibility to showcase the work of the university while signalling its seriousness as an academic home for exploration and invention.”
The structural engineers engaged for the projects were Beca, whose Matt Cameron comments: “A pair of 72m-long steel trusses runs the full length of the upper storey, supporting the roof and first floor. The trusses cantilever in excess of 14m at each end of the building, and are in turn supported by monolithic in situ concrete shear walls, centred approximately 18m from either end of the building. These walls, acting in conjunction with shear walls oriented in the transverse direction, resist lateral loads during earthquake and wind. Reinforced concrete bored pile foundations were required at the shear wall locations to resist large over-turning moments.
“A single cruciform column is located at the midway point of each longitudinal truss. In contrast to the massive concrete walls that serve to “anchor” the structure, the columns are very slender; this is possible because of the reduction in axial load at mid-span, owing to the compensating effect of the large cantilevers at either end of the building. In addition to the usual strength design considerations, differential temperature in the truss top and bottom chord, deflection of the cantilevers and vibration performance of the first floor – all required particular attention from the design team.”
The clear span of level one is 16m wide
The suspended floor system is comprised of precast concrete tees with an in situ topping, spanning the full 16m width of the building. The tees incorporate embedded steel plates at the ends to achieve the connection to the bottom flange of the longitudinal trusses. The building interior is largely devoid of structure, since the roof and suspended floor systems span the full width of the building, creating optimal flexibility for space planning. In keeping with the architectural theme of expressing the building structure, the bottom flanges of the rafters are visible inside the upper floor of the main building.
Hawkins Construction as the builder appointed Quantity Surveyor Blair Williams Project Manager. ”Although it’s certainly an eye-catching building,” says Blair, “its construction required more co-ordination than innovation. The fabrication, delivery and erection trusses needed to be meticulously planned. Because of the substantial length of the trusses, each one had to be fabricated in four 18m long sub-assemblies to facilitate transportation to the site. The sections were then erected and welded together in situ to give a homogeneous appearance.”
To maintain the tempo needed to complete the project on time, SCNZ member Southern Cross Engineering Ltd was asked to take some of the preliminary steelwork through to final assembly. Works Supervisor, Laurence Burlton: “We have a large workshop which has a special floor, allowing us to set up large fabrications quickly avoiding the use of trestles. With a high ceiling and a good overhead crane, we have ease of handling and can work on lengths of 40m or more. The set-up time and putting in of the members is very quick. But,” adds Laurence, “we also have a rigorous Quality Assurance System, and on this job there were lots of full penetration butt welds. The Southern Cross expertise was put to the test with X-rays and ultrasound. Of course we are very proud of our staff who achieved high quality passes every time. Truss manufacture at this level is bread and butter to the 26 skilled men in our fabrication department.”
Extensive glazing at ground floor level gives the appearance that the upper structure is floating above a transparent pavilion. This effect is in part achieved by locating the custom steel brackets supporting the ground floor glazing well back from the glazing line. On the upper floor, the main glazing line is located inboard from the longitudinal trusses. A secondary façade comprised of fritted glass provides solar screening and is supported by bespoke steel outrigger frames.
The final glazing progresses
The building contains a café foyer, which will be used to display new technology as well as for social and promotional events. The foyer affords a meeting space for local designers and engineers, where they can interact with students and academic researchers creating a forum for new ideas to incubate. The first floor is also designed for collaborative work, allowing PhD students from different disciplines to work in close proximity to researchers from other universities and the private sector. In addition to this, there are two seminar rooms, test rooms and secure research rooms for the development of sensitive work.
Over the two levels, there are 2,400m² of interior space. As the first dedicated ICT research centre in New Zealand, this will be our national centre for excellence in ICT research and training. But it is also a pilot that is aiming to establish a sustainability rating tool for education buildings.
