Business North December / January 2021

82 | BUILDING Aspec Construction - Auckland Aspec rises to project’s challenges T T Karen Phelps Designed by Stevens Lawson Architects the St Peter’s Chapel is a an important and spiritual place for the school. T T to page 84 C ompleting a construction project within a live school environment with 1200 students by its very nature presents a number of challenges. The St Peter’s Chapel project in Auckland showcases the ability of Aspec Construction to work proactively with the client, subcon- tractors, architect and project consultants, creating a strong working relationship to seamlessly deliver a complex project on time and on budget, says Aspec Construction site manager Kane Blank. He took a very hands on approach to the project, which saw him win a 2020 New Zealand Institute of Building excellence and category award for projects under $5m. The chapel, designed by Stevens Lawson Architects, was a bespoke one-of-a-kind build- ing, an important and spiritual place for the school, situated above a previously construct- ed gymnasium, overlooking busy Khyber Pass Road. Enabling works on the site commenced in 2019. Health and safety as well as allowing the school to carry on with its daily activities unimpeded were important focuses during the project, says Kane. Planning on the project was carefully con- sidered and fencing off and protection of key areas allowed work to progress safely. Kane says being open to discussions and taking a proactive approach to solving issues on site created good working relationships. “This was important because from the start the project timeline was impacted by a num- ber of challenges including redesign of the piling foundations to suit encountered ground conditions.” “There were also a number of unique architectural elements in the build including a large triangulated spire and a long rectangular skylight, which divides the building.” Another factor that assisted the project timelines was that the chapel structures and architectural elements were modelled utilising 3-D modelling. Kane says this meant that many buildability issues could be solved before they came up on site, for example how the angles of the ceiling and wall lined up with other finishing elements. “There were also a number of unique architectural elements in the build including a large triangulated spire and a long rectangular skylight, which divides the building. “ Accoya, American oak, brass and several bespoke handcrafted statues and paintings also adorn the chapel. When Quality Counts McKain Fibrous Plasters are proud to support Aspec Construction FOR ALL YOUR FIBROUS PLASTER & PLASTERBOARD LINING REQUIREMENTS www.mckain.co.nz 09 634 8803