N E W S 9 A resurrection from the ground up Engineering firm Mainmark shortlisted for UK Ground Engineering Awards for Christchurch project The engineering firm responsible for saving New Zealand’s Christchurch Art Gallery following the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 has been shortlisted for the International Project of the Year Award at the 2016 Ground Engineering Awards. Ground engineering firm Mainmark was able to re-support and re-level the 33,000 tonne gallery in just 52 days, rectifying severe foundation damage. The International Project of the Year Award recognises projects that have delivered geotechnical innovation that stands out on the international stage for credentials in sustainability, health and safety, and value engineering. “We are thrilled to have this landmark project recognised on a global scale and in company with an outstanding cohort of engineering firms,” says Mainmark founder and chairman, Philip Mack. Judges consider client satisfaction, innovation, value for money, performance against prediction, the quality of design and construction, safety, and application of quality management. During the seismic events of 2010 and 2011, Christchurch was struck by thousands of earthquakes including one with the highest peak ground accelerations ever recorded (2.2g). The Art Gallery was badly damaged by the February 2011 earthquake and experienced 150mm of differential settlement – up to 182mm subsidence in some places. In 2015, the Christchurch City Council engaged Mainmark to repair the foundation damage following a competitive international tender process. The requirement was to raise and re-level the gallery, a large multi-storey, glass-fronted, concrete-framed building of heavy construction, with underground car-parking and plant rooms. Mainmark prepared and strengthened the foundations, creating cementitious grouted subsoil columns by Jet Grouting. Re-levelling then followed, by incrementally injecting a proprietary cementitious grout using JOG computer-controlled grouting technology to produce the controlled lifting pressures required. The scale and complexity of this re-levelling project was significant. The building was lifted with the client’s management staff in situ – only the basement carpark was not in use. A bespoke monitoring system was also developed to digitally visualise the building’s lifting movement in real time using data from measuring instruments throughout the building, allowing precise adjustments throughout the process. Mainmark worked closely with the project’s engineering team to successfully re-support and re-level the 6,500 square metre foundations in just 52 days - without requiring excavation or the occupants and exhibits to vacate - on tendered time and budget. Mainmark restored the Christchurch Art Gallery’s design levels to +/- 10mm across the entire foundation. Christchurch’s gallery is the largest building globally to be lifted and re-levelled to this extent. http://tinyurl.com/CHCHBUILD POWERING TO 100,000 UNITS Hypertherm, a manufacturer of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting systems, is marking a major milestone with the production of its 100,000th Powermax45 plasma cutting and gouging system. This milestone unit makes the Powermax45 the bestselling plasma system of all time according to the company. It easily beats Hypertherm’s previous record set in 2007 when the company announced it had sold 50,000 Powermax600 units. Introduced in 2008, the popularity of the Powermax45 is due in large part to its incredible versatility. It is portable — weighing in at 16 kg — yet powerful enough to easily cut 12mm thick metal, and sever 25mm thick metal if needed. In addition, the system is designed for handheld or mechanised cutting and gouging. The 100,000th system came off an assembly line in New Hampshire. It was then outfitted with a special commemorative cover signed by dozens of Hypertherm Associate owners, including company founder Dick Couch. Company founder Dick Couch signs the 100,000th commemorative plate. VIDEO Looking forward to meeting you at
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