Auckland City Hospital Central Plant and Tunnel
Location:
Auckland, New Zealand
Contract:
Construct Only
Customer:
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
Duration:
37 months
Future-proofing NZ’s largest hospital with resilient infrastructure on a constrained site
McConnell Dowell and Built Environs, in partnership, have successfully delivered a new Plant Building at Auckland City Hospital – a multidisciplinary project incorporating civil engineering, tunnelling, building works and complex services integration.
The completed six-storey, seismically resilient facility is designed to support hospital operations for the next 100 years and provides essential campus-wide services including emergency power, medical gases, chilled and potable water, stormwater systems, diesel storage and backup infrastructure.
Engineered for major seismic events, the building features base-isolated construction supported by 18-metre-deep piles and triple friction pendulum isolators. Delivered on a highly constrained site, it integrates industrial-grade plant systems with office accommodation and includes two 2MVA generators, large-scale fuel and water storage, a treatment plant, and a 240-metre service tunnel connecting to the main hospital.
Constructed within a fully operational 24/7 hospital environment, works were staged (including night works) to maintain uninterrupted access for patients, staff and emergency services. An innovative elevated access ramp, designed by the in-house temporary works team, helped minimise noise and vibration while ensuring safe public access. The project was completed alongside a two-year facilities maintenance period.
Creative Construction
Mitigating the impact of construction
At Auckland City Hospital, a complex stakeholder environment exists, with patients, staff, specialist service providers, emergency vehicles and a helicopter pad all intersecting within a limited space. To ensure the wellbeing of stakeholders, the project team have adopted the most unobtrusive construction methodology possible. Furthermore, they will be monitoring dust, noise and vibration levels through SiteHive, an innovative environmental monitor that provides real-time readings. This enables the team to respond promptly to any unfavourable construction methods that exceed the set constraints.
Achieving sustainable innovation
This project demonstrates that sustainability and innovation can go hand in hand. Our team achieved a reduction in the project’s carbon footprint of 261,248 kg/CO2-e by repurposing local materials for an inventive temporary works solution. This included 300 tonnes of steel and concrete being recycled, along with 3 tonnes of steel and 6 tonnes of concrete pads that were sourced from 18 km away from the Ngā Hāu Mangere Bridge Project, and 18 tonnes of steel from 23.9 km away at the Puhinui Plant Yard. This reuse of materials resulted in a CO2-e saving of 261,248 kg/CO2-e, and the materials only had to travel a total of 41.9 km instead of 11,160 km from China.
Fast Facts:
- A six-storey, 5,230 m2 building housing emergency services supplies to run the hospital for 3 days after a catastrophic event
- All services reticulated through a 250m tunnel to existing hospital buildings, with future expansion provision
- Replaces and upgrades services supplied from existing plant buildings and plant rooms in clinical buildings
