When Henshaw Goodman planned the construction of an office building in an existing office park in Christchurch, MSC Consulting was asked to undertake the structural design. This required special considerations to mitigate possible future liquefaction effects.
The four-level office building at 10 Show Place, completed in early 2015, was designed to accommodate two tenants on each floor, to provide spaces (between 250-400m2) for smaller companies within a recently developed business park.
The structural design had to take account of factors in the Christchurch geology made evident by the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. A key design element was eight-metre deep ground improvement, using in-situ soil mixing with lime and cement to mitigate liquefaction effects. Other design elements included screw piles and ground supporting strip and pad foundations, precast concrete shear walls, and structural steel columns and beams supporting a Comflor composite concrete flooring system. Steel purlins were used to support the roof cladding.
The full height precast panels were constructed on site and all panels erected and propped in place prior to constructing the floor, requiring an innovative panel prop system.
The result, says MSC Director Anil Krishnan, was a smart new office building designed to the highest possible specifications, using techniques specifically tailored to the situation in Christchurch.
