In July 2012 the Cement & Concrete Association of New Zealand (CCANZ) organized the inaugural ArchEng workshop.
Seeking to bring architecture and structural engineering students together, in this instance five each from Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Canterbury respectively, the workshop created a relaxed environment in which the students could work collaboratively.
Faced with a brief to develop a preliminary design for an inner city Wellington cultural centre, with an emphasis on concrete as the primary building material, the students worked in cross-disciplinary teams of two.
The workshop ran over 3-days, and included site visits to exemplary concrete buildings in Wellington. These included the Alan MacDiarmid Building, which utilizes PREcast Seismic Structural System (PRESSS), and the Meridian Building, New Zealand's first 5 star Green Star building.
The final design concepts were judged by a panel of experts from across the construction industry, with the winning team rewarded for its effort.
Feedback from all participants was extremely positive. It is anticipated that the workshop will become an annual event for CCANZ, as the Association continues to foster cross-disciplinary communication amongst early career professionals for better concrete outcomes.
For more information visit http://www.ccanz.org.nz
