56 | INDUSTRY VIP Steel First stabilisation phase for Chch icon Richard Loader The South Transept frame contains single columns spanning 15 metres and weighing 5 tonnes per column. Nearing completion of the first stabilisation phase of the Christ Church Cathedral, multi-award winning VIP Steel has been selected as a finalist in the 2021 Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ) Excellence in Steel Construction - $500k to $3 million. In August last year VIP Steel was engaged by Naylor Love, the lead contractor for the Christ Church Cathedral’s restoration, to assist with the Stabilisation Phase of the project. The Stabilisation Phase is the first step to reinstating the Christ Church Cathedral, a Category 1 listed heritage building. The project addresses the structural damage, prevents further damage, and is crucial to gaining safe access to the building before carrying out subsequent strengthening and reinstatement construction phases. This project necessitated an extreme focus on health and safety, heritage, cost and time management, and required collaboration between VIP Steel, Naylor Love and Holmes Consulting to ensure best methodology and constructability. VIP Steel used the latest 3D scanning technology, surveying the building from a 15metre distance due to risk, and plotting the building surfaces for stabilisation frame design, ensuring flawless installation. The South Transept frame contains single columns spanning 15 metres and weighing 5 tonnes per column. The frame was assembled onsite due to its final size and weight. The West Wall Frame is 17 tonne and has been installed using a 250 tonne crane. While not the heaviest, it is a significant piece of steel as it is a permanent structure and includes a steel plate affixed to the frame with the date installed for heritage documentation. Eventually, the frame will be enclosed and house the large Rose Window. Subsequent stabilisation phases will include the North Transept, and the Apse, which wraps around the back of the building. Reflecting on VIP Steel’s entry in the prestigious SCNZ awards, Office Manager Christine Harris say it was a privilege to be part of the restoration of what is an iconic and historic Christchurch landmark. “We entered the award to highlight what VIP Steel is capable of achieving and to demonstrate the technology utilised by the company to work in with architects and engineers, and to show how far that technology has come when working on restoration projects such as this. “We entered the award to highlight what VIP Steel is capable of achieving and to demonstrate the technology utilised by the company to work in with architects and engineers.” “Being a finalist is a significant achievement in itself and we are looking forward to the results next year.” VIP Steel achieved success at the awards last year, winning in both residential and commercial categories, and was selected as a finalist in 2019. Founded in 2014 by Managing Director Sam Edinburgh, VIP Steel has evolved as a well established, locally owned and operated business specialising in the design, supply, fabrication and erection or structural steel for commercial and residential projects. Since its foundation the business has enjoyed rapid growth and been awarded many key projects throughout the South Island including the Christ Church Cathedral, Earth & Sky Observatory in Tekapo and the Invercargill precinct. The company is now reaching into infrastructure projects including bridges. “VIP Steel employs a team of over ninety and our workshops operate night teams as well, so we are operating almost 24 hours a day.” He says VIP has established two new companies recently. “VIP Metalworks was established to focus on staircases, handrails and finer stainless steel work and VIP Coatings was established to service painting needs on a large scale for industrial projects.”
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