University of Auckland Business School claims national engineering award

November 2008

A new teaching facility at Auckland Universities Business School has taken out the building and construction 2008 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards at TE PAPA in Wellington last night.

Engineering consultancy Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner, won the award for designing a new highly original and sustainable building at the Auckland campus. 

The construction project presented many challenge for the engineers because of its scale and the geotechnical stability of the building site. There were issues with the need to accommodate large teaching spaces, car parks, offices and the foot traffic of more than 6,000 students per hour.

David Elms DistFIPENZ, Convenor of the Category Awards judging panel said the judges were particularly impressed by the team’s approach and the attention given to sustainable solutions while achieving a cost effective design.

“The unusual and irregular geometry of the complex meant the engineers displayed significant ingenuity and creativity”, said David Elms, Convenor of the Category Awards judging panel.

The fourth New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are the premier awards for New Zealand engineering professionals. The awards are presented in two major areas: Individual Awards, that recognise leadership, entrepreneurship, and our young engineers; and Category Awards, that recognise achievement in the various industry areas, together with a Supreme Award for the best of the Category winners.

The New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are hosted by a consortium of five partners and 10 contributing organisations. The partners are: Centre for Advanced Engineering (CAE); Association of Local Government Engineering New Zealand Incorporated (INGENIUM); Electricity Engineers Association of New Zealand (EEA); Association of Consulting Engineers of New Zealand (ACENZ) and the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand (IPENZ.)

For more information contact:
Chief Executive, IPENZ, Engineers New Zealand.
Mobile: 021 311 879
DDI: 04 474 8935
Prepared by Julie Buchanan, Communications Manager, IPENZ, Engineers NZ,
Mobile: 021 479 885, DDI: 04 473 2028