Category: News

First human entry to the Christ Church Cathedral!

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In case you missed it—last week, after more than two years of strengthening work, humans were finally given the all clear to safely enter the Ōtautahi (Christchurch) Christ Church Cathedral for the first time since Urban Search and Rescue in 2011, post earthquake!

As part of the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project team, our very own Manager of Structures South, Peter Carney, was one of two people (pictured) to enter the site.

Prior to human entry, ‘Spot’ the remote-controlled robot dog, drones, and an impressive remote-controlled digger were the only technologies to have entered the Cathedral—as part of the Reinstatement Project. So it was a true privilege and honour for Pete to be one of the first humans to enter this site!

Our team of expert structural engineers and drafters are proud to be part of the team helping deliver this important ‘Rebuild Christchurch’ project. The Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited (CCRL) was established in August 2018 with the sole purpose of reinstating Christ Church Cathedral. Holmes is proud to be working alongside Keith Paterson (CRRL’s Project Director), the team at Naylor Love, Rawlinsons, Warren and Mahoney, and Heritage Professionals William Fulton and Jenny May.

[Image credit: © Tom Cuthbert \ Belmont].

Read more here: First human entry into Cathedral since 2011 (christchurchcathedral.org.nz)

 

#ONEHOLMES

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We have exciting news! From July 1, 2022, Holmes Fire and Holmes Consulting are coming together to provide the same expert services we currently offer in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia—operating as one business across both countries. We’re also working even more closely together globally, with one Holmes Executive Team leading Holmes internationally.

For our clients and partners, it means our specialist services are better connected and integrated, and Holmes is structured to deliver you even more value, quality and responsiveness. We’re also better positioned to support our clients as technology, markets and opportunities evolve.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, Holmes Fire and Holmes Consulting is combining our three connected specialist Practices. “Holmes NZ” now delivers Fire, Structures, and Infrastructure engineering, while “Holmes Australia” continues to deliver premium fire engineering services to the Australian market. Holmes NZ also continues to extend its reach into the Netherlands, delivering advanced seismic assessment and structural engineering.

In the USA, Holmes offers premium engineering services across thriving Structures, Fire and Residential Practices, with strong links to Holmes in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. While our friends at Holmes Solutions continues to deliver world-leading international product development and testing from offices in Aotearoa New Zealand and the USA—with key connections into the wider Holmes Group.

As always, the team at Holmes is committed to delivering quality and value in everything we do, wherever we do it. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon.

John Hare, Hamish Nevile, Stuart Harris, Glen Mitchell, Sam Cooper, and the Holmes team in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Atlassian | The World’s Tallest Timber Hybrid Tower

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Over 39 storeys high, Atlassian’s proposed Australian headquarters, to be funded and developed by one of Australia’s leaders in property Dexus, will soar above the new innovation and technology precinct, Tech Central, located above Central Station as Sydney’s tallest hybrid-timber commercial tower, and the tallest of its kind in the world. The complex design will not only push physical limits but will also set a new benchmark in sustainable design and future proofing.

Atlassian and Dexus have been working with the NSW Government, undertaking a thorough planning process and international design competition to determine the amazing design for the Atlassian building, and various commercial and technical agreements to enable development on the YHA site.

The hybrid-timber design will predominantly house commercial offices, with retail and accommodation facilities that are adaptable for the changing needs and expectations of Sydney’s tech community.  

Holmes is proud to be contributing to the fire engineering and structural fire engineering design of this signature building. Our experienced engineers have been working closely with the design team and approval authorities to inform the building’s design and fire safety strategy, with careful consideration of the development’s connection with surrounding existing and future developments. Advanced thermal and structural fire analysis will be utilised to support and verify the design of the primary exoskeleton and the mass timber habitats. 

Our team is looking forward to continuing to work on this project for the next few years and contributing to an iconic development that is sure to be considered a significant milestone in Sydney’s built history.

2022 Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards

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We’re proud to have been involved in 12 different award-winning projects!

Last Friday our team were honoured to attend the 2022 Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards held in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

The Property Industry Awards is the most prestigious property awards in Aotearoa New Zealand—celebrating excellence in design and innovation in the built environment for over 20 years. They showcase iconic projects in property development and investment across a broad range of sectors and design disciplines, as well as recognising outstanding projects, developments and refurbishments. The award winners are the best of the best; projects that provide an outstanding return or delivery of service potential on investment of funds, creating value for owners, tenants, and the wider community.

Holmes is a proud sponsor of the awards, regularly sponsoring the Holmes Group Tourism and Leisure Property Award.

At this year’s awards we’re excited to celebrate the achievements of our project partners, where our Fire Engineer Practice team and our Structures Engineering Practice team were involved in 11 unique and well-deserving projects!

Te Pae Convention Centre Christchurch [Image credit: Lightforge].
Our team of talented engineers and drafters were part of the following category winning collaborations:

  • Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, submitted by Ōtākaro Limited (Category Winner for the Warren & Mahoney Civic, Health & Arts Property Award)
  • The Rise, Auckland, submitted by Broadway Property Group (Category Winner for the Yardi Retail Property Award)
  • Generator NZ, Wellington, submitted by Precinct Properties New Zealand (Category Winner for the Naylor Love Heritage and Adaptive Reuses Property Award)
  • Generator NZ, Wellington, submitted by Precinct Properties New Zealand (Category Winner for the RCP Commercial Office Property Award Winner)
Selwyn Sports Centre, Rolleston.

Additional awards of significance:

  • Wakefield Hospital – Stage 1, submitted by Vital Healthcare Property Trust (Excellence Award for the Warren & Mahoney Civic, Health & Arts Property Award)
  • Aotea – Te Pokapū Aotea Centre, submitted by NZ Strong Group Limited (Merit Award for the Warren & Mahoney Civic, Health & Arts Property Award)
  • 22 The Terrace, Wellington, submitted by Stride Property Group (Excellence Award for the RCP Commercial Office Property Award)
  • St Georges Road, Auckland, submitted by Kalmar Construction, Miles Construction, Ministry of Architecture + Interiors and Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities (Excellence Award for the Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Community and Affordable Housing Property Award)
  • Busby Street, Auckland, submitted by Miles Construction, RM Designs and Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities (Merit Award for the Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Community and Affordable Housing Property Award)
  • Generator NZ, Wellington, submitted by Precinct Properties New Zealand (Excellence Award for the Resene Green Building Property Award)
  • 22 The Terrace, Wellington, submitted by Stride Property Group (Excellence Award for the Resene Green Building Property Award)
  • 30 Madden, Auckland, submitted by Willis Bond (Excellence Award for the Templeton Group Multi-Unit Residential Property Award)
  • Kōkihi, Auckland, submitted by Marutūāhu Iwi and Ockham Residential (Merit Award for the Award for the Templeton Group Multi-Unit Residential Property Award)
  • Cordis Hotel, Auckland, submitted by Great Eagle Development (Category Winner for the Holmes Group Tourism and Leisure Property Award)
  • Selwyn Sports Centre, Rolleston, submitted by Apollo Projects (Merit Award for the Holmes Group Tourism and Leisure Property Award)

 

Read about all the winners here on the Property Council New Zealand’s website.

Collaboration is key for Ōtautahi (Christchurch’s) latest endeavour

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Holmes is proud to be a member of the Kōtui consortium working on the design and construction of Te Kaha, a new multi-use arena in Ōtautahi (Christchurch). The $683M state-of-the-art arena will be located in central Ōtautahi, Canterbury and is jointly funded by Christchurch City Council and the Crown’s Christchurch Regeneration Acceleration Fund. The arena will be able to hold over 30,000 spectators and aims to add to the city’s vibrant lifestyle while establishing Ōtautahi as a sporting and cultural centre within Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.

Led by BESIX Watpac, Kōtui brings together companies from Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond with expertise and experience in stadium design. The Kōtui team and other consultants working on this project include:

Architect: Populous
Subcontractor and Kōtui team member: Southbase Construction
Architect: WARREN AND MAHONEY
Land Surveying: Graham Surveying Ltd
Security Risk Assessment: Intelligent Risks
Sports Turf Consultant: SSDM Blair Cornthwaite
Engineering: Mott MacDonald
Waste Management Specialist: Eunomia Research & Consulting
Landscape Architecture / Urban Designer: LandLAB_
Geotechnical Engineering: Golder

Holmes is providing a complete range of services including Fire Engineering, Fire Protection Engineering, Passive Fire Protection, and Structural Fire Engineering for this iconic project. We’re eager to be working with such a diverse and experienced team who give us the opportunity to develop and build new relationships while also working with some of our established partners and contributing to the rich history in Ōtautahi.

The Design & Construct contract was recently signed by BESIX Watpac, with work on site already been commenced—as the Kōtui consortium, council, and other important stakeholders work closely together, to deliver an arena worthy of Ōtautahi (Christchurch’s) growing entertainment scene by 2026.

Commercial Bay – shortlisted for the prestigious World Architecture Festival 2022

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An incredible 15 Aotearoa New Zealand projects are in the line-up for this year’s World Architecture Festival!

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) represents the world’s largest live-judged architectural awards programme and amongst this year’s 420 shortlisted projects 15 come from right here in Aotearoa New Zealand!

Holmes is absolutely thrilled to see our project, Commercial Bay, has been shortlisted for the category ‘Shopping’. Our team of Structural and Fire Engineers helped deliver the architectural vision of Commercial Bay’s collaborative architectural designers: Woods Bagot, WARREN AND MAHONEY and NH Architecture. Congratulations to them on this stellar nomination and the honour of being shortlisted—it’s an incredible achievement!

You can read more here: World Architecture Festival 2022 shortlist revealed – 15 New Zealand projects are in the line-up | Architecture Now

 

Going Green: Sustainability in engineering. An interview with Lisa Oliver, Project Director

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‘For returning Kiwi with offshore experience in sustainability and design there has never been a better opportunity to bring those skills home and get involved in a wide variety of projects.’

Lisa Oliver, Project Director here at Holmes was recently interviewed by Kea New Zealand about her passion for mass timber design, her involvement in sustainability, and how Aotearoa New Zealand is well placed to lead the repurposing and strengthening of existing buildings.

Read her interesting insights and where structural engineering has taken her (and her family!) in the world here: Lisa’s Kea Interview

 

Assessing buildings after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

We’re the IStructE Supreme Award winners for 2021

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It doesn’t get more prestigious than this!

Our entry won not only our category for ‘Structural Heritage’ but also the highly coveted and exclusive Supreme Award, at the 2021 Structural Awards by The Institution of Structural Engineers.

Established in 1968, the Structural Awards are the world’s leading awards for structural engineering excellence. Winning both of these prestigious awards is an incredible achievement for everyone here at Holmes who worked on this exciting but challenging project that won–The Christchurch Town Hall. And our team of experts were not only the structural engineers but also the fire engineers for this important restoration project.

This conservation project demanded a full spectrum of technically complex structural and geotechnical solutions. Solving ground stabilisation issues and predicting the future performance of the structure and foundations were achieved through detailed analysis and intensive co-ordination between the geotechnical and structural engineers.

Complex analysis was employed to minimise the strengthening work required for the superstructure. The result preserves the original character and style of the building and protects the existing fabric – a positive both for sustainability and our client–Christchurch City Council.

The Judges commented, “This project is an excellent example of what structural engineers can bring to a devastated existing building. By understanding its behaviour and failure, the team was able to repair and preserve this important structure”.

Special thanks goes to our fantastic team of project partners as well:
Client: Christchurch City Council
Architect: WARREN AND MAHONEY
Principal Contractor: Hawkins
Commercial Manager: Rider Levett Bucknall
Geotechnical Engineer: Tonkin + Taylor
Quantity Surveyor: Rider Levett Bucknall

JUDGES’ COMMENT

Acclaimed for its architecture and acoustics, Christchurch Town Hall is a local landmark. Following devastating earthquakes in 2010 and  2011, the original building required significant structural repair and strengthening of the supporting foundations. This conservation project demanded a full spectrum of technically complex structural and geotechnical solutions. Ground stabilisation issues were solved and the future performance of the structure and foundations was predicted through detailed analysis and intensive co-ordination between the geotechnical and structural engineers. Complex analysis was employed to minimise the strengthening work required for the superstructure. The result preserves the original character and style of the building and protects the existing fabric – a positive both for sustainability and the client. This project is an excellent example of what structural engineers can bring to a devastated existing building. By understanding its behaviour and failure, the team was able to repair and preserve this important structure.

 

View the full list of 2021 IStructE Award Winners here.

Take a sneak peek of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre

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Lockdown has put a pause on the opening of Te Pae (more than once!), but we’re just as excited to see this impressive NZ $475M convention centre completed and open to the public soon.

Te Pae, Christchurch’s new Convention and Exhibition Centre, is an ambitious project, creating a large mixed-use precinct in the heart of the city. The development has a large and varied stakeholder group, including Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Christchurch City Council, and the private sector—as well as the communities the centre will serve. Capable of hosting up to 2,000 delegates for a variety of national and international events, the state of the art centre includes a 1,400-delegate auditorium, a 3,600m² exhibition hall and 1,600m² of meeting rooms. This is a project of significant local and national importance, delivering a vital events hub that will attract domestic, national and international visitors and events.

In the challenging geotechnical conditions and seismic environment, our experience has been invaluable in designing a structure to stand the tests of time and form an important part of the city’s cultural and commercial landscape.

Client: Ōtākaro Limited
Main Contractor: CPB Contractors
Architects: Woods Bagot, WARREN AND MAHONEY
Structural Engineering: Holmes Consulting (NZ)
Geotech and Civil: Tonkin + Taylor
Services Engineers: WSP in New Zealand

Our client Ōtākaro Ltd. has released a sneak peek inside the nearly-completed building, take a look:

Commercial Bay wins Supreme Award at SESOC 2021

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Exciting news, Commercial Bay won the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence 2021 at the Structural Engineering Society NZ (SESOC) Awards.

We are very proud of our team and our project partners that worked together to create a truly outstanding result. Commercial Bay isn’t just an incredible feat of engineering but an impressive mixed-use space like no other in New Zealand.

The project team included:

Client: Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited
Contractor: Fletcher Construction
Architects: WARREN AND MAHONEY (in association with Woods Bagot and NH Architecture)
Project Managers: RCP
Quantity Surveyors: RLB Pentad Quantity Surveyors
Building Services Consultant: NDYLIGHT
Geotechnical Consultant: Tonkin + Taylor
Fire Engineer: Holmes Fire

Congratulations to all the other projects and teams who won awards on the night.

Award-winning projects from Holmes: 2021 Interior Awards

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Holmes is excited to be part of three fantastic projects that won at the 2021 Interior Awards:

Congratulations to our project partners and all the winners at this year’s awards.

Commercial Bay, Auckland

©Samuel Hartnett and Petra Leary

Auckland Museum Grand Atrium

Top: Commercial Bay
Bottom: The Hotel Britomart

Auckland War Memorial Museum

10 years on, take a peek inside the Christ Church Cathedral

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At this stage it isn’t safe for anyone to go inside the Christ Church Cathedral due to the risk of falling materials, debris, and the potential for it to collapse. This drone footage, captured by engineers, has been invaluable for architects, heritage professionals, engineers, and contractors to view the interior and assess the damage without the need to endanger lives.

The current condition inside the cathedral is clearly shown in the drone footage (captured by Beca) and gives us an indication of where the structural damage is more severe. It allows us and our project partners to better determine and understand the Cathedral, and to help direct this important reinstatement project!

Watch the full video below, narrated by Heritage Professional and expert Jenny May.

Watch the guided virtual tour now!

 

The Aotearoa New Zealand Interior Awards for 2020

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Following its successful opening to the public earlier this year, the design team and stakeholders of Commercial Bay celebrated another win as New Zealand’s Interior Awards 2020 winner. The prominent project was honoured for its “dynamic and expressive interior” taking home the Civic Award and the Supreme Award.

This project required a significant commitment from our team to pursue excellence for one of Auckland’s largest projects for 2020 as well as extensive hours spent on analysis, modelling and project meetings. Our Auckland team has been enjoying the well-deserved recognition and popularity that Commercial Bay has been experiencing since it opened, within the industry and with the public –  as well as personally enjoying some of the retail and dining options available!

View the design team’s winning presentation through at ArchitectureNow.

Wellington Architecture Awards – shortlist announced

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The Wellington branch of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) recently released the list of finalist project for the Wellington Architecture Awards 2020. Holmes is delighted to announce that from the 43 projects chosen for the shortlist, our Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) team has delivered Fire Engineering and Fire Protection services for 10 projects! With the elevated level of architecture and design currently in the market, it is a source of pride that these projects have been chosen and a credit to our Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) team for delivering the high level of fire and life safety required in conjunction with the project teams involved. 

Antipodes Skincare Heritage Refurbishment by Architecture Workshop

Category: Commercial Architecture and Heritage
Service: Fire Engineering + Fire Protection

Bowen State Building by Warren and Mahoney Architect

Category: Commercial Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering

FNZ Office Fit-out by Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects (Wellington studio)

Category: Interior Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering

Forsyth Barr Workplace by Warren and Mahoney Architects

Category: Interior Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering

Harbour City Centre Annexe by Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects (Wellington studio)

Category: Heritage
Service: Fire Engineering

Housing NZ, Hanson St by Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects (Wellington studio)

Category: Housing Multi-unit
Service: Fire Engineering + Fire Protection

Mahara Place Redevelopment by Athfield Architects and Boffa Miskel

Category: Planning & Urban Design
Service: Fire Engineering

Maru at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington by Athfield Architects

Category: Education and Interior Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering

Site 10 by Athfield Architects

Category: Commercial Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering

Waitohi–Johnsonville Library and Community Hub by Athfield Architects

Category: Interior Architecture and Public Architecture
Service: Fire Engineering + Fire Protection

Congratulations to everyone involved in these projects, we look forward to seeing the results later this year.

Visit ArchitectureNow to view the full list of finalists for 2020.

Holmes opens in Melbourne

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We’re excited to announce Holmes is now operating in Melbourne!

Following the success of over 20 years in Sydney, and two years in Brisbane—our Melbourne office will allow us to more easily service and add value for our increasing number of clients in Victoria.

We will be bringing the high levels of quality and service that Holmes is renowned for. In addition, we want to open the Melbourne market’s eyes to the cost savings and design potential that performance-based structural fire engineering can bring to projects of all sectors.

Launching the expansion south will be Mathew Freeman (CPEng), a Technical Director here with us at Holmes.

In the 11+ years Matt has been with Holmes, he’s become a Chartered Professional Engineer on the National Engineers Register in Fire Safety and is an accredited Fire Safety Engineer [QLD, NSW & VIC]. Matt specialises in Fire Safety Engineering, Infrastructure Fire Safety, CFD Modelling, Evacuation Assessments, Interim Fire Safety Strategies, Building Code of Australia (BCA) Assessments and has had extensive experience on projects from all sectors.

Matt not only brings a wealth of technical knowledge with him but also has the necessary business experience, having successfully managed the Sydney office as Branch Manager. We have no doubt that Matt will bring his secrets of success to the Melbourne market.

Matt will continue to be supported by the 25+ engineers in our Sydney and Brisbane offices, and our greater international team.

Get in touch to find out more about Holmes and how we can develop fire safety strategies that work best for you.

Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards announced for Te Whanganui-a-Tara projects

Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards announced for Te Whanganui-a-Tara projects

On Thursday May 3rd, 2018, the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) held their 2018 Wellington Architecture Awards.

There were 11 non-residential projects, which include a fire engineering component, and we are pleased to be involved on the consultancy team for seven out of the 11 projects honoured. Listed below are these seven award winning projects;

22 Boulcott Street
Commercial Architecture Award

Image Credit: Andy Spain

Arise Centre
Commercial Architecture Award

Photo Courtesy of NZIA

He Tohu Document Room
Public Architecture Award

Image Credit: Andy Spain

Our Lady of Kapiti School
Education Award

Image Credit: Andy Spain

Te Toki a Rata Building, Victoria University of Wellington
Education Award

Image Credit: Paul McCredie

Transpower
Interior Architecture Award

Image Credit: Jason Mann

Victoria Business School, Rutherford House Redevelopment
Education Award

Image Credit: Jason Mann

Congratulations to all the project teams involved in all the winning designs.

For Awards and the list of categories, see the full article here.

Holmes is heading to Antarctica!

Holmes is heading to Antarctica!

Holmes is pleased to be the appointed Fire Engineer for the redevelopment of Antarctica New Zealand’s Scott Base. Mike Inwood and Reuben Costello from our Holmes, Fire Practice team, are the primary team for the project.

Holmes will be working within the building services team, led by Steensen Varming.
The wider consultant team include:

Architecture: Jasmax–Hugh Broughton Architects

Quantity Surveying: Turner and Townsend

Structural/Civil Engineering: WSP Opus

Building Services: Steensen Varming

The existing Scott Base facility is reaching the end of its functional life. The redevelopment of Scott Base will allow scientists from across the globe to continue researching some of the most important science of this generation. The outcome will be a facility fit for purpose to support our world-leading scientists in one of the most isolated places on Earth for the next 50 years.

The design of a building in Antarctica presents specific challenges due to the remote location and unique climate. The design and implementation of fire safety at the base needs to consider life safety in the immediate period during the fire event, long term operation of the base post fire, and asset protection/robustness.

Given the location and harsh environmental conditions in Antarctica, certain bespoke fire safety solutions, developed from first principles, will be required to ensure that the designs either meet, or indeed surpass, NZ fire safety design and best practice.

The team at Holmes is looking forward to the challenges ahead.

For further information:

http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/whats-new/new-zealands-coolest-redevelopment/

Photo Credit: Photo from ANZ attributed to Fiona Shanhun.