46 | Stackcell Structures T T Virginia Wright Innovation brings building costs down The Stackcell system efficiently produces concrete walls and concrete slabs resulting in a watertight structure complete with internal walls ready to be fitted out considerably more quickly than traditional construction methods. Brandon O’Reilly is the founder and director of Stackcell Structures, the Auckland-based construction company he established with his wife Michelle seven years ago. A civil engineer, Brandon spent years working in heavy commercial construction, and construction management, in South Africa, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. He had been in Australia for two years when a call from Shane Brealey of NZ Strong brought him back to New Zealand. Brandon, who had worked with Shane before leaving New Zealand for Australia and considers him a mentor, says the prospect of collaborating with Shane to build an apartment block “was enough to bring me back”. The apartment block they built in Otahuhu in 2018 was for Shane’s company at the time, NZ Living, and Brandon says it confirmed what they both knew: construction in New Zealand is extremely expensive. “We built it in the traditional style and we realised there was so much waste with time lost, waiting for information, waiting for design, inefficient build methods using multiple construction elements and so on,” Brandon says. “We said to each other there has to be a better way to build in New Zealand and bring the cost down.” With Shane as the primary investor Brandon put his innovative mind and considerable experience to the task and Stackcell Structures was the result. Stackcell Structures works with an in-situ concrete formwork system designed to make residential construction faster, more efficient, and built for the long term by replacing blockwork, precast concrete and timber, Brandon says. “Because it’s only one product without all the fixings it’s a lot cheaper. It’s very user-friendly for carpenters so instead of procuring a heavy formwork contractor for commercial builds, for example, the traditional carpenter can easily put the stackcell modules up himself with relatively unskilled labour.” The Stackcell system efficiently produces concrete walls and concrete slabs resulting in a watertight structure complete with internal walls ready to be fitted out considerably more quickly than traditional construction methods. Stackcell Structures was the super-subcontractor on an apartment development by Sound Living in Mt Albert which was delivered in December last year. “That was 51 apartments and the structure was done in 134 working days. That’s the concrete slab, the ground floor slab, the walls, the suspended slabs and the concrete roof,” says Brandon. “That provides the watertight structure ready to fit-out much sooner which is the secret sauce to the Stackcell system. “It took 184 working days for the total development to be ready for people to move in,” he says.” Part of the secret to the Stackcell system itself is its on-site manufacturing process. They make the wall modules on-site using plastic spacers, plywood and a standard GIB screwgun, resulting in an almost Tupperware-like system ready for remarkably quick assembly and the other sub-contractors to complete the structure. Homes that might once have lasted 70 years will now last 100s of years thanks to their solid monolithic concrete structure with all the environmental sustainability that brings with it. “We won’t have to demolish buildings, we can just refit them on the inside, more like the UK and New York apartments,” says Brandon. Any building an architect can dream of can use the Stackcell Structures system. It’s already been used in 1060 apartments across Auckland and Hawke’s Bay, with the first apartment block in Christchurch to use it starting construction in the coming months, and a further 1000 apartments for Simplicity Living using the Stackcell system due to start later in the year. It’s a fast and efficient building system, specifically designed to bring cost efficiencies to New Zealand’s construction industry, rapidly achieving an impressive track record. CONSTRUCTION New zealand's largest and most trusted Concrete Pumping Business Through our close work with Stackcell Structures, we take pride in offering collaborative input to ensure every job is tailored for success—supported by the reliable performance of the Kirsten system. Pioneer Concrete Pumps Ltd is New Zealand’s largest and most trusted concrete pumping operation, with over 30 years of experience across Auckland, Tauranga, and Wellington. Alongside our sister company, Performance Concrete Ltd, we provide complete concrete placing and pumping solutions, utilizing advanced tools like laser screeds to deliver high-precision results. Auckland's Leading Concrete Pumping Professionals 09 277 7722 info@concretepumps.co.nz www.concretepumps.co.nz Coordinated Planning and Specialist Concrete Solutions Pioneer Concrete Pumps and its sister company, Performance Concrete Ltd, work together to provide comprehensive concrete pumping, placing and nishing solutions for large-scale construction projects. Pioneer operates an extensive eet of specialist equipment, including boom pumps in six sizes – 20m, 27m, 31m, 37m, 42m and 52m – alongside line pumps, shotcrete equipment and high-rise pumping systems. The company also operates two 36-metre self-climbing, free-standing lattice-type high-rise concrete placing towers. These represent a New Zealand rst and are currently the only set erected in the country, with the towers installed at the Simplicity construction site on Morningside Drive, Sandringham. Complementing these capabilities, Performance Concrete specialises in concrete placing and nishing, with multiple ride-on power oats and a Ligchine boom laser screed to meet the demanding oor atness and tolerance requirements of large commercial projects. As part of their involvement with Stackcell Structures, the businesses work alongside the wider project team using Stackcell's Kirsten scheduling system to coordinate concrete pours and manage upcoming work. The live scheduling and booking system gives all contractors visibility of the project programme, allowing concrete pours to be planned months in advance. This means each trade can organise labour, equipment and resources well ahead of time, while having a clear understanding of when other contractors are scheduled to be on site. The system has proven highly reliable, with concrete pours scheduled through Kirsten, pours always go ahead and have never missed a date yet. This level of forward planning and visibility provides certainty across the project, supporting communication between contractors and helping ensure work progresses ef ciently. For Pioneer and Performance Concrete, the system demonstrates the value of strong collaboration and coordinated planning when delivering complex construction projects. Contact Us
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