Ramset OrbiPlate™ provided perfect solution for Queenstown's new Salvation Army Service Centre

The New Zealand Property Council have just released the finalists for the 2024 Property Industry Awards. Cook Brothers Construction is incredibly proud to have collaborated on five projects nominated for awards this year including the Holy Trinity Church Hall and Nothcote Intermediate School in Auckland, Les Mills in Dunedin, Ayrburn and The Salvation Army’s Queenstown Corps in Queenstown.
 
The new Salvation Army service centre, which has been nominated for the Civic, Health and Arts Property Award constructed by our Southern Lakes team featured some innovative collaboration from our team and Trade Partners. The much-needed expansion had been almost 20 years in the making for the Salvation Army – enabling them to build on their work, providing a wide range of social services for the Queenstown community.

Cook Brothers Construction Site Manager Stephen Borsboom faced several challenges going into the build. “Essentially we had two buildings to construct and then make into one,” he explained.

“One of the buildings had steel panels that were angled inwards, along with a separate angle on the roof as well. This meant we had a combination of angles to work to, which is why we decided to go with the Ramset OrbiPlate™ system."

An additional complexity was that some of the precast panels weighed 25 tonnes, and were just over 12 metres high, making the connections even more challenging. Borsboom said the tolerances provided by the OrbiPlate™ connectors minimised the amount of rework."

Borsboom says the OrbiPlate™ system changed the buildability of the project, preventing the extension of the timeline, as well as being safer, as it eliminated welding at height."

Contributing to the challenge was the consideration for the harsh Queenstown climate, with the team facing challenging weather conditions throughout the project. “We work year-round, said Borsboom. “We continue to work through rain, snow, and ice and rain – it’s just another day."

“The size of these panels in the wind was a contributing factor,” he says. “The fact that we were able to install the structural steel almost instantly and give us some stability to the building straightaway was significant.”

The brand new 783m2 purpose-built facility was built over two stories, with The Salvation Army operating all their services from the ground floor and social services on the first floor. The faculty also features a 136-seat community theatre, hosting local arts, community and cultural groups.
 
It’s great to see our team being recognized for their quality of work and dedication to our communities and clients in this year’s awards.
 
Congratulations to all the nominees and best of luck to our clients and team.