| 97 Kobe Construction is rapidly establishing itself as a cutting edge company at the forefront of an emerging new wave in the New Zealand building industry. Managing director Blair (Blu) Tipler says, as the Christchurch-based business developed and expanded into the North Island it became apparent there was a substantial gap in the market for a strongly technical and more bespoke construction capability in the commercial sector. Consequently Kobe Construction has become a leader in the construction of buildings that significantly incorporate “mass timber”, a category of engineered wood products typically made of large, solid wood panels, columns or beams manufactured off-site for load-bearing wall, floor, and roof construction. These include laminated veneer lumber (LVL), glulam, cross laminated timber (CLT) and other elements. “We are really orientated towards a sustainable approach to construction, that's why we are in the mass timber glu-lam and CLT space, obviously it's offering better construction solutions not necessarily just for the environment but the whole process of construction on site,” Blu says. Significant to the process of the mass timber concept and process is the large amount of prefabricated, off- site processing and the subsequent assembly on-site. “It creates massive efficiencies in construction that are just unprecedented compared to the conventional method of concrete and steel. Our philosophy on that is improving the way we actually build things.” The wider landscape is the Government's wood-first initiative. Along with the carbon sequestration benefits attributed to solid wood, it seeks to encourage the use of wood as a primary construction material in new government buildings of up to four levels, to attract investment, and to create jobs in the sector. “A major project completed by Kobe Construction, Clearwater Quay in Christchurch was used as one of several case studies in New Zealand on the use of mass timber construction in a large project,” Blu says. Mass timber componentry for a project is designed using CAD (Computer Aided Design), and Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Kobe Construction's innovation is to use these tools and the 3D modelling generated on-site in its own construction process. “From this we assemble and build the buildings to a level of accuracy that has not previously been able to be done and that's really only available because we are using the BIM models actually for construction purposes, not just for design. We are looking to create that approach as an industry standard on how to build these buildings. Obviously the whole sector's learning from everything overseas. Mass timber construction is in its infancy in its design in New Zealand and based on our building code and our earthquake standards, our construction model is different to the rest of the world. It's a pretty exciting space moving forward.” From its experience with mass timber construction, Kobe Construction has developed its own intellectual property that has enabled the fine tuning of techniques, processes and procedures in order to streamline future mass timber projects. One of the challenges will be for the industry to have the skill base needed to achieve this shift in large scale construction materials and methods, but Blu believes the opportunity for tradesmen to upskill and to work on more challenging and stimulating projects will be attractive. “We are building to micro-measurements, but on a massive scale. You have to have the right equipment and the right mindset to deliver perfection.” Cutting edge company leading the way
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