N E W S 8 August 2017 Sanjeev Ganda, (Victoria University of Wellington), Annie Tong, (University of Auckland), Callum Lamont, (University of Auckland) winners of ArchEngBuild 2017 with Chelydra Percy, BRANZ ceo ArchEngBuild 2017 - inspiring next-gen construction collaboration Award activates Strainrite Fencing Systems is leading change at the farm gate with its new Activator Strap, after walking away with the top honour in the International Innovation Award category at the 2017 New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays. Maurice Wooster from Strainrite Fencing Systems says the idea for the Activator Strap stemmed from many years of improving the widely used Electric Fence Activator System. “One of our fencing specialists was setting up an electric fence gateway and was continually encountering broken fence activator installations. It dawned on him then that there had to be a better way,” says Mr Wooster. From there the Strainrite research and development team designed and produced rapid prototypes for testing before coming up with the insulated strap that wraps around the gate post, to create an offset for an electrified wire to accept gate handle hooks. Judges were impressed with the simplicity of the design which they described as a clever, well designed solution with the potential for significant time and cost savings, commenting that “it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done before”. Following its win, Strainrite has had enquiries from a new international customer, as well as sales and requests for information from distribution networks domestically and internationally. Fieldays received a total of 77 entries in this year’s Innovation Awards with 16 in the International Innovation Award category. Thirty architecture, engineering and construction management students, one brief and just three days to develop a fictional experimental village for the New Plymouth Council. That was the creative task facing entrants in the annual ArchEngBuild competition this year. Teams were given a fictional scenario where they had to pitch a concept design for an ‘Incremental Village’ as part of the Council’s 2030 Live+Work On The Edge economic development project. The concept was to encourage young innovative business savvy individuals and families to the region. The Incremental Village is an extension to Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena’s Pritzker Prize winning concept of the incremental house. Alejandro Aravena’s idea is participants purchase a standard designed half built home and build the remaining space to fit their individual needs. The brief for the New Plymouth Village was to incorporate the half-built accommodation but also include working space, shared community space and be based around an economic development for Taranaki. The winning team Annie Tong, (University of Auckland – Architecture), Callum Lamont, (University of Auckland – Engineering) and Sanjeev Ganda, (Victoria University of Wellington – Contract Management) created a stunning and functional Farm to Table community. The Farm to Table village consisted of multi-storey commercial and residential units where the focus was on the production of fresh produce on site. Farm to Table is aimed at those wanting a unique low impact lifestyle where fresh produce can be commercialised through the local farmer market and even internationally. The judges said they were impressed with the environmental, social and cultural considerations shown within the designs which showed a real empathy toward Taranaki. Despite being strangers at the beginning of the three days the judges commented the collaboration within the teams was a breath of fresh air for the construction industry. Some of the best projects happen when there is true collaboration between engineers, architects and builders where the work is developed through mutual respect for each profession they said. Now in its sixth year, ArchEngBuild brings together architecture design, engineering and construction final year students simulating a real-life client brief situation to demonstrate the importance of effective cross-disciplinary collaboration. Chelydra Percy, BRANZ ceo, says BRANZ is thrilled to again be a key part in bringing this event together. “Collaboration across the industry is vital to promote quality and inspire better buildings. We know from previous years students who have taken part come away with a deeper understanding of the roles and intricacies of each other’s disciplines. Our hope is that this sets up the good practise of working together into their future careers and ultimately benefits the wider industry and clients,” she says. The judges said they were impressed with the environmental, social and cultural considerations shown within the designs which showed a real empathy toward Taranaki. Stratasys Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of Stratasys Ltd, the 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions company, announced it has expanded its partnership with Ricoh New Zealand Ltd, a subsidiary of Ricoh Company, Ltd. Japan. Ricoh will be representing the entire Stratasys range of products, in addition to existing MakerBot products, together strengthening the availability of their 3D printing products in New Zealand and driving 3D printing adoption in New Zealand, helping local organisations accelerate their transformation to digital manufacturing and maximise business potentials. Ricoh has assumed responsibility for sales and support of Stratasys products from previous reseller Tasman Machinery. Dave Crooks from Strainrite Fencing Systems with the Fieldays International Innovation Award winning, Activator Strap. 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