Commercial Development

After the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch faced a shortage of commercial office space. Demand was strong at Wigram, where the Southern Motorway and surrounding commercial growth were helping drive new development.

The site presented a significant engineering challenge. Historic waterways and filling activities had created variable ground conditions, with soils in the upper 15 m susceptible to liquefaction in a future earthquake. For a new commercial building in Christchurch, that risk needed to be understood and managed before the project could proceed with confidence.

Cook Costello was engaged to provide geotechnical and structural engineering inputs for the development. Our work included:

• Ground investigations to identify soil variability and assess liquefaction susceptibility within the upper 15 m

• Ground improvement design to improve ground performance and enable the use of shallow foundations

• Structural analysis and design to deliver a safe, efficient and buildable solution

• Temporary works design and construction observation to help confirm the works aligned with the design intent

The ground improvement solution allowed the building to be supported on efficient shallow foundations while managing liquefaction-related risk. This helped deliver much-needed office space during Christchurch’s recovery, on ground that first needed to be properly understood, improved and designed for.