• Consultant Visits
• New Preliminary Design Support Service brochure
• SCNZ Members Event – Motivate or MotorV8?
• Steel Construciton in  Building Today magazine
• SCNZ Steel Structures Seminar
• Prediction of slow recover remains unchanged
• Revied Fire, Earthquiake and Composite Steel Standards to bring value to the Steel Industry
• Need help with Structural Steel Design?
• Steel Advisor Latest Issue
• The 9th Pacific Structural Steel Conference

Please click Steel Futures February 2010 to view this issue.

Whether you are nearby at the V8 street races or just looking for motivation, join with other SCNZ members and:

- Take the opportunity to network with other influential steel construction industry people.

- Learn how the local steel construction industry is responding to the threat of imported fabricated steel work.

- Upskill yourself on the last Steel Structural Standard that will impact steel fabrication and erection in NZ.

- Hear about the work SCNZ is doing on your behalf to promote the use of structural steel.

- Enjoy an after dinner talk presented by OneSteel on the steel market outlook.

- Relax in beautiful surroundings and well appointed venues.

 **You can’t afford to miss this event!** Don’t delay—book today!

For full details of the event, please download a copy of our Members Event Invitation.

• Levy increase an important milestone for SCNZ
• The SCNZ Year in Review
• Upcoming SCNZ Steel Structure Seminar
• Steel Construction in Building Today
• SCNZ Design Guides and Software
• Structural Help Desk
• Trades@ School
• Steel Advisor Latest Issue

Please click Steel Futures Dec 09 to view this issue.

For full details and a registration form, please click here.

For a seminar brochure and registration form, please click here.

For more details, please visit the PSSC conference website at  www.pssc2010.com

For this project, New Zealand structural engineers at Aurecon developed an advanced earthquake damage avoidance system, the first of its kind in the world.

The protected column base detail with ringfeeder springs

It has now been internationally recognised by the Institution of Structural Engineers (UK) in their 2009 Structural Awards. Aurecon (Wellington), structural designers for the project, have won “the Education or Healthcare Structure” category. The judges commented that Te Puni was “A worthy project bringing true innovation in the field of seismic design and economy to what could have otherwise been a very expensive building.”

The major structural engineering innovations that attracted the judges’ attention are located in the buildings’ clever bracing systems.  Conventional design of steel framed structures for seismic events has depended on member ductility and the acceptance of a certain amount of damage to frame members. In this new system, “connections” rather than frame members are the focal points for energy dissipation. The result is a structural design, where the steel frames themselves will escape significant seismic damage.

Sean Gledhill, Project Leader Aurecon shared his delight for the project, the talented team, and implications for New Zealand structural engineering as a whole. “The skills and knowledge in our industry are cutting edge.”  Gledhill enjoyed working with a dynamic design team including Geoff Sidewell, Dr Darrin Bell, and external peer reviewer, Dr Charles Clifton.

An elevational view of the structure during construction

It was crucial to the projects success that there was a high level of collaboration with all involved, especially with the design build contractor Hawkins Construction, who grasped the potential of the new technology immediately. “This damage avoidance system was presented, reviewed and constructed whilst other technologies were still in laboratory testing phases”, Gledhill said.

Steel was also crucial to the projects success. “The Te Puni project demonstrates how steel as a material can be manipulated to form complex parts and systems without a major impact on cost or speed of a project.”

 What logistical challenges set the scene for this innovation?

348 dormitories were to be built on a steep hill in a condensed 18-month program. That hill was 2km from a major seismic fault. To also meet the needs of the buildings secondary role as the University’s disaster operations centre, it was paramount to take earthquake protection to the max.

The clever response was to invent an economic system for the complete protection of the multi story steel framed buildings. “Basically” said Gledhill; ”it meant taking the ideology of base isolation you’d use on a hospital project and taking it into a steel frame building. We approached the problem in a different manner to traditional design. We considered where damage is normally allowed in a building, and brainstormed ways of protecting the primary frame. We used an enhanced jointing system at beam column joints as conceived by Dr Charles Clifton, when he worked at the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), and created a column base protection device for frames.”

A sliding hinge joint

The Te Puni buildings are literally designed to “rock” – and not just in terms of being a great place to live.  The damage avoidance system involves a new form of foundation connection which allows the buildings to lift during an earthquake – then rock using railway damper technology to control movement in a controlled and safe manner. The joints between columns are allowed to slide, absorbing seismic energy. The movement is very small, but essential.

This technology is a step change in design philosophy. Whilst being safety compliant for earthquakes currently means “ a standard that ensures people can walk out alive” – this damage avoidance technology takes it to the new level of ensuring that the building “still functions” after an emergency.

The project also takes seismic design of flexible multi storey steel frame buildings in a new direction.  Developers now have the option to fully protect a steel building with similar performance to base isolation. There are now cost effective, sustainable and original solutions with applications for developers in seismic areas all around the world.

Designing a social place, and one that is safe for as many probabilities and improbabilities as you can imagine is part of leading architects and structural designers task. The kiwi ingenuity behind Te Puni shows that anything that can be made can be made better, smarter, safer.  Well done to all involved!

Architect: Architectus

Structural Engineer: Aurecon

Contractor: Hawkins Construction

Steel Constructor: MJH Engineering

• SCNZ Members enjoy Queenstown AGM and Members Event
• Upgraded SCNZ website
• Steel Structures Standard Part 1 now published
• Steel Construction in Building Today
• Farewell to Clark
• Practical SCNZ Seminar Series enjoyed by all
• Excellent progress in development of Steel Detailing Qualification
• International award for innovative steel building
• Steel Advisor latest issue

Please click Steel Futures Nov 09 to view this issue.

 The AMP Society Building in Customhouse Quay Wellington is one of the cities most significant and distinctive historic buildings with a Category One rating with the New Zealand Historic places trust.

Architects Stephenson&Turner, had already designed an award winning entrance to the building and refurbished the upper floors, terrazzo stairwells and lifts. The next challenge was a practical one:  the need to create additional floor space for office accommodation. This would help the buildings inspiring 1920’s classical features meet the future by catering inventively for modern office needs.

The problem to counter was the fact that the existing ground floor was dominated by a double-height former reception area – so it was too imposing to be used as office space and too vast to be effectively air-conditioned. (You cannot blow air down six and a half metres.) The solution was creating a new mezzanine level. One which has turned out to be visually and structurally stunning – appearing light and airy as it hovers in space, yet with the extraordinary tensile strength of steel.

The mezzanine solution may seem an obvious one – but the limitations of a heritage site posed huge logistical challenges. How do you execute the heavy construction of a mezzanine floor when you cannot risk damage to heritage features, you cannot attach anything to ornate marble pillars, or spill or rip anything on original heritage carpet below? Whilst the only solution is to hang a floor off the floor above using high tensile stainless steel rods – how do you bring core structures in when the front door is out of bounds because the outside façade and the central space is heritage rated?

The expertise required to solve these challenges was considerable. For example, the main feature, the bridge between the floors (an all steel 3 dimensional truss) could not be adjusted on site. As Troy O’Donoghue of Stevensons Structural Engineers Ltd pointed out, the only alternative was bringing it through a double height window, then erecting the mezzanine floor inside like giant meccano.

“Between Fletchers Interiors, the Architects, Aurecon (previously Romulus Consulting Group) and ourselves – the whole team worked everything out exactly. The bridge between 2 floors just sneaked in the window with millimetres to spare”, he said. “We suspended it off the HIAB crane and poked it through at right angles to avoid hitting the tram wires.”

Structurally only steel could achieve the design objectives as Murray Robertson, architect from Stephenson&Turner, pointed out.

“There are many different grades of steel. It has great strength particularly when used in tension as we have on this project. We actually were able to create a lighter structure than we even thought possible when we started the project. The balustrade posts are only 50mm x 10mm and are at 1500mm spaces.”

Steel also provided opportunities to cleverly conceal services leaving a cleaner ceiling with only light and sprinklers visible. There is a lot going through the trusses and unusually for a New Zealand office space the new ceiling uses perforated steel tiles.   Integrated active chilled beams were also utilised. These contain the air supply, cooling and lights, all in one unit, and threaded through the trusses.

From an aesthetic point of view, steel was a brilliant modern contrast. The architects put something very new in a 1920’s classical space – and it worked beautifully.

 “The light elegant glass and steel structure was designed to provide a contemporary contrast to the solid robustness of the marble stone and bronze surrounding space. While the new structure contrasted with the existing it also had a rigid order that related to the classical columns and reflected the classical nature of the space.” Robertson explained.

“Mission accomplished” with not a scratch on any heritage spot, or a spot on any heritage carpet. Few would realise the lengths gone to achieve it – a testament to the expertise of all involved…..and the versatility of steel.

NZS 3404.1:2009 is the first part to be released in the new steel structures Standard suite.
Please click here to go to the Standards website for further information.