The NZIOB Awards for Excellence in the Building Professions cover the entire industry and recognise individual performance rather than projects. Below is a list of all winners:

GIB Supreme Award Winners
Jack Harris – construction manager
Simon Chambers – Operations manager

Company: Fletcher Construction
Project: Grand Chancellor Hotel
Client: Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Project value: $9.9m

Together, this collaborative, highly motivated team accomplished one of the greatest challenges they had ever faced - a life changing project neither had ever expected to attempt or complete - to deconstruct the 28-story reinforced concrete framed Grand Chancellor Hotel and car park building, which colloquially became known as the leaning tower of Christchurch. It was a total high-rise construction in reverse on a confined site whilst enduring a large number of sizeable aftershocks.

Resene Under $5m Award Winners
Andrew Burden – project manager

Company: Hyline Construction
Project: Albany Junior High Fixed Dental Facility
Client: Waitemata District Health Board
Project value: $567,000

Andrew took the opportunity to take what appeared to be a simple, straightforward build and turn it into something special. The project involved the relocation of a stand-alone building at the rear of the school. It was rotated 90 degrees, and refined to a simple light weight building with a Kiwiana design aspect. Andrew led the project team, working with the dental staff and school’s board of trustees, ensuring the alternative design met all the client’s demands.

Eugene Duggan – project manager

Company: Fletcher Construction
Project: Ronald McDonald House, Christchurch
Client: Ronald McDonald South Island Trust
Project value: $1.6m

Significant earthquake damage forced the closure of 12 of Ronald McDonald House’s 26 rooms, the vast majority of communal areas, and all of the office space.
The Cashel Street facility, through the Ronald McDonald South Island Trust, provides much-needed support and free accommodation for families whose children need to travel to Christchurch to receive medical treatment. Eugene worked with the project engineers and specialists to develop highly detailed methodologies and task analysis for this demanding project, pioneering construction techniques that had never been used before in New Zealand.

Hays Construction Specialist Recruitment $5-10m Award Winners

Jack Harris – construction manager
Simon Chambers – operations manager

Company: Fletcher Construction
Project: Grand Chancellor Hotel
Client: Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Project value: $9.9m

The 28-storey Grand Chancellor Hotel was the highest priority building for demolition in Christchurch. The precarious nature and lean of the structure meant there was a large drop zone and a ‘no go’ cordon in place around the building restricting access to the area, which was within the red zone, for essential purposes only. This project was to be the most dangerous and complex demolition undertaken in New Zealand; the US Emergency Response Team advised the building was “in the worst condition for demolition” they had ever seen.

Highly commended:
Scott Wilsher – project manager
Company: NZ Strong Construction
Project: Te Kura Kaupapa Māorio Pukemiro, Kaitaia
Client: Ministry of Education
Project value: $8.6m

Colorsteel $10-25m Award Winner

Alun Larsen – project manager

Company: Hawkins Construction
Project: Aotea Centre, ASB Theatre Refurbishment
Client: Regional Facilities, Auckland
Project value: $11.5m

The curtain came down, the actors left the stage and the Hawkins crew moved in not wanting to miss an hour’s work. The project timeline was critical. Alun Larsen managed an accurate programme and contract that could not be extended by even one day as the client had advanced show bookings. Stage one of the project focused on the redevelopment of the existing theatre on the ground floor, while stage two of the project included the refurbishment of the circle area.

Highly commended:
Grant O’Toole – project manager
Company: Hawkins Construction
Project: Countdown Supermarket, Wellington
Client: Progressive Enterprise
Project value: $23.7m

Highly commended:
William Stockman – project manager/director
Peter Chisholm – construction manager
Company: Arrow International
Project: College of Creative Arts, Massey University
Client: Massey University
Project value: $16.2m

Holcim $25-50m Award Winner

Brendan Lindsey – project manager

Company: Dominion Constructors
Project: AECOM House
Client: Harbour 4
Project value: $42m

Construction of the distinctive eight-storey Aecom House commenced before the design was finalised so flexibility and the ability to see ‘outside the square’ were vital for project manager Brendan Lindsey from day one of this complex project. Construction started under a five-level consent, however another two consents were in progress, and the building could be constructed to eight levels. This meant Brendan had to carefully manage the design and build process to accommodate a final outcome for both a five-level and eight-level project.

Highly commended:
Matthew Findlay – project manager
Company: Hawkins Construction
Project: University of Canterbury Oval Villages
Client: University of Canterbury
Project value: $26.5m

Davis Langdon Over $50m Award Winners

Paul Youngman – construction project manager
Ted Senner – project director

Company: Hawkins Construction
Project: Christchurch International Airport Integrated Terminal
Client: Christchurch International Airport Limited
Project value: $120m

Building a new terminal on the site of the existing, operational terminal was a challenge in itself. Add to that 44 million passengers walking through the construction site, and 300,000 commercial aircraft arriving and departing from the site, as well as a number of significant snow storms, three that shut operations down entirely. Then there was the shattering February 2011 earthquake and ongoing shakes, that numbered 11,000 in total throughout the construction period, the discovery of large volumes of asbestos in the old terminal building, and significant design and scope changes, all which had varying implications on the construction programme. Paul and Ted successfully steered this project to completion and delivered a first class facility for Christchurch. Two colleagues who had never worked together prior achieved what many thought unachievable.

Highly commended:

Chris Edwards – project manager
Stuart West – project manager
Company: Fletcher Construction
Project: Faculty of Medical Health Science, University of Auckland
Client: University of Auckland
Project value: $150m

James Hardie Innovation Award Winners

William Stockman – project manager/director
Peter Chisholm – construction manager

Company: Arrow International
Project: Te Aro Hihiko – College of Creative Arts, Massey University Wellington Campus
Client: Massey University
Project value: $16.2m

Massey University’s new College of Creative Arts (CoCA) building was designed to be a flagship building for the Wellington Campus. Both William and Peter were required to bring every bit of their construction industry experience to this project, given the challenges of including a number of world-first combinations of various building materials, technologies and design innovations. As team leaders William and Peter were prepared to take on the challenge of doing something that had never been done before, but only through a measured risk management process. The pair managed the prototype production testing of the innovative Dunning Thornton-designed shear blocks or beam column assemblies at the University of Canterbury, and the production of two prototype pre-cambered composite LVL fabrication and precast LVL/composite floor slab early in the design phase so the prototypes and testing could be completed well before the need to commit to work to meet on-site delivery programmes.

Steel Construction New Zealand Sustainability Award – Highly Commended

Scott Wilsher – project manager, NZ Strong Construction
Joanna Woods – sustainability consultant, E-Cubed Building Workshop
Peter Davidson – architect, Brewer Davidson

Project: Te Kura Kaupapa Māorio Pukemiro, Kaitaia
Client: Ministry of Education
Project value: $8.6m

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Pukemiro is a Māori language immersion school in Kaitaia where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture, catering for 180 students from year one to 13. The school was built to obtain a five-star Greenstar rating. This was achieved by minimising lifecycle environmental impacts with emission reductions, improved indoor air quality, reduced energy consumption, and measures aimed at reducing the ecological impact.

Progressive Building Young Achiever Award Winner

Andrew Rowden

Company: Hawkins Construction

Andrew Rowden has compressed a wealth of experience and achievements into his relatively short career in the construction industry. At the age of 29, he has gained experience on a wide range of projects, giving him an excellent background from which to draw on as he progresses his career. Andrew’s contribution to sustainable building and Green Star management are arguably unrivalled in New Zealand; he was responsible for developing and monitoring procedures at the Christchurch Civic Building, which went on to achieve a six star built rating. Recently, Andrew has established a team and plant on site for the construction of the new $18 million South Island Blood Centre in Christchurch. Andrew Rowden is clearly a name we will hear a lot of in times to come.

Full coverage of the awards is in the August 2013 issue of Progressive Building.