| 91 DEVELOPMENT ICON: Lorne Street Student Accommodation A challenging combination of heritage protection, a deep basement and a tightly constrained city site has put structural engineering at the heart of the Lorne Street Student Accommodation project in Auckland. BGT Structures was the lead structural engineering designer becoming involved during the early design stages and working closely with the wider project team to ind solutions that balanced architectural requirements, construction methodology, cost and safety. One of the many challenges on the project was the existing heritage building on the site, says BGT project director Omar Al Gailani. “The early decision to retain a bay of the existing structure adjacent to the façade proved critical in protecting this heritage element throughout construction,” he says. “By maintaining this bu er we were able to keep heavy machinery and piling activities away from the façade, signi icantly reducing the risk of damage. This approach helped preserve the brickwork with only minimal remedial repairs required, de-risked the construction process and ultimately allowed the retained façade to be successfully integrated with the new structure.” The site presented another signi icant challenge below ground. The half basement was excavated approximately three metres below Mayoral Drive and the neighbouring buildings required careful consideration of both the excavation and foundations. BGT Structures worked closely with ICON and geotechnical engineer to develop an appropriate solution. A series of piles were bored and poured along the basement perimeter with a shotcrete wall tying the system together through a capping beam. Temporary rock anchors were installed to stabilise the wall during excavation. These extended underneath the road but were removed once the basement slabs had been poured. Omar says the success of the project relied heavily on early and ongoing collaboration across all disciplines. “Student accommodation projects place unique demands on the structure, so close coordination with the architects and services engineers was critical to ensure the design supported the layout, functionality and overall vision of the development,” he says. “Having delivered a number of student accommodation projects we understand the unique challenges these developments present and how to design structural solutions that are sympathetic to their requirements" Omar added. Post-tensioned lat slabs with no beams to support them were selected as the solution. The development also uses a combination of precast core walls and in-situ walls with the precast panels manufactured o site before being craned into position, adding another layer of coordination. For Omar, the project demonstrates how early collaboration and proactive engineering can help resolve complex challenges on demanding sites. “It demonstrates we can work under tight programmes on challenging sites and with sometimes con licting requirements,” says Omar. “It shows we are proactive in terms of inding solutions and helping contractors build things e iciently and safely.” The project also demonstrates how structural engineering can support architectural ambition. “We can understand architectural visions and build the skeleton that delivers that vision,” says Omar. “This building was a complete success story from start to inish.” Balancing Heritage and Innovation The development transformed the heritage-listed Campbell House into the entrance to a new 19-storey student accommodation tower.
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