Royal Wolf shipping containers are a common sight on the streets of Auckland and Christchurch, and now footpaths in Wellington have made way for the big steel boxes forthe first time.
The modified containers – known as hoardings or gantries; are being used as temporary covered walk ways to provide protection for pedestrians and workers around the construction site at 20 Customhouse Quay.
The 14-level development on the corner of Johnston St and Customhouse Quay, which isbeing development managed by Newcrest, will replace the old quake-damaged BP House. The hoardings; made out of 14 modified 20-foot containers – have become a temporary landmark along the busy road way while the main building is being constructed behind.
Graham Allison, Royal Wolf's Business Development Executive – Building Construction, says hoardings are ideal for windy Wellington because they are strong, extremely impact resistant and offer overhead protection from falling debris and potentially hazardous building materials.
Royal Wolf design teams modify the traditional container into the perfect solution for keeping both the public and workers safe around construction site.
These containerised hoardings take safety to an extra level with a 10kPa rated protection level, and even after the containers have been modified, with their sides cut out and ends opened up, they remain strong.
Newcrest Development Manager, Simon Baker, says the company chose the Royal Wolf container hoardings because they are quick and easy to install, and offer a neat and tidy appearance around the construction site while giving maximum protection.
The hoardings were also ideal for this site because over the course of the project we will have to move sections of the gantry and these structures are easily lifted and relocated using the tower crane.
Mr Allison says one of the challenges facing construction companies on restrictive inner city building sites is having enough room to store equipment and set up site offices.
To resolve this problem the Customhouse Quay hoardings will also have Royal Wolf container buildings, including site and lunch offices and storage containers, stacked to multiple levels on top of them.
Royal Wolf's hoardings have been utilised in many different configurations and shapes, including being used as bus stops outside the TVNZ building on Victoria Street inAuckland and as a temporary tunnel during the refurbishment of Manukau Institute of Technology.
At Whakatane Hospital the hoardings were used to create a raised walkway, with the containers sitting on concrete plinths to provide a temporary corridor and link between buildings during the redevelopment.
The beauty of Royal Wolf’s hoardings is that on a very practical levelit means there is limited disruption around building sites, which are often in high pedestrian areas such as Customhouse Quay, while also serving to create a bit of intrigue and mystery around what is being built behind them
