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Everyone should see this crisis as an opportunity to improve urban design, provide more open space and improve services to our community. Our challenge will be to bridge the rebuild so we foster good relationships between the existing and new built environments and communities. It is a big challenge but one we can achieve. The first phase needs to be quick removal of the debri and full reinstatement of the infrastructure – roads, water, sewerage and electricity. The Government needs to provide strong leadership for the rebuild and make a commitment to be with Christchurch to the end. This is one important lesson from Kobe's experience. Rapid economic recovery is also vital to get our community beyond its victim status and involved in helping to create our new city. How long individuals and our community suffer is dependent on this planning. We need to move quickly. Once we start rebuilding the scars of this devastating earthquake will begin to no longer be visible on the landscape and some sense of what will be a new normality can return to our community.
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Out of a crisis comes opportunity It is impossible for many people to imagine our city's future following February's devastating earthquake. Lives have been lost; homes destroyed; businesses have been forced to close; and our city is limping along, its basic services fragile and its communities still reeling from the impact of the earthquake. | ||
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The face of our city has changed forever. While we lament the loss of the character of our city, from the rubble will emerge a new city – a city with a new look, new energy and new confidence. This is an exciting time. We can use this opportunity to build better and create a city for the future. It will have a new business heart and new attractions, but most importantly, it will attract tourists and bring new people to live in our city. Christchurch will again offer prosperity. There are many lessons we can learn from the rebuilding of Kobe, the Japanese city devastated by an earthquake in January 1995. Six thousand people died in this event and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. It took 10 years but today Kobe is one of the most vibrant cities in Japan. |
February's earthquake provides great opportunities for Christchurch. There will be many difficult challenges, conflicting views and competing priorities but as long as we acknowledge these and work together, we can be successful in creating a new city for future generations to enjoy and in which to prosper. Post disaster construction planning is a holistic approach – social, economic and whole of community. While we must involve our residents and the business community in this process, as local knowledge is critical if we are to build stronger and more sustainable communities, it is also vital we get the balance right between consultation and strong leadership. The rebuild must progress at a pace that ensures we create a vibrant city for the future but not to the detriment of procrastination. |
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Art & Industry's natural synergy Art & Industry Trust have a natural synergy which Leighs Construction recognised last year when it became a major sponsor of the 6th SCAPE Christchurch Biennial, an exhibition of contemporary public art to engage and stimulate the community. The company was to use its considerable construction expertise to help build three of the key public art works on display as part of the biennial. Unfortunately, the September 4 earthquake struck only weeks before SCAPE was to open, postponing the event for six months. This date coincided with February's earthquake and resulted in SCAPE being cancelled this time – a great loss to our community and disappointing for all involved. After so much planning and work, Leighs Construction were saddened they were unable to help for the first time to bring to Christchurch this magnificent event. However, the company remains committed to being involved with SCAPE. SCAPE has yet to decide on the date for its next Biennial but Director Deborah McCormick says Leighs Construction sponsorship is critical as "we simply can not turn these artists' concepts into reality without their expertise and resources".
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Re:Start leads the way Re:Start 29.10.11 is the first initiative to get business operating again within Christchurch's Central City and Leighs Construction is helping property owners and businesses to get retail stores and hospitality venues re-opened by 29 October. Buildings need to be demolished and others repaired in the City Mall, from Colombo Street through to Oxford Terrace. The work is focused around Ballantynes, which has pledged its commitment to remain in City Mall, on the same site where the company has operated for more than 150 years. Where buildings are demolished, relocatable expostyle structures will be put on-site for retailers and the hospitality industry to be operating in time for New Zealand Cup and Show Week, the Christmas period and beyond. The relocatable buildings will be done in such a way that they do not hinder future rebuilding. Leighs Construction is pleased to be helping restore business activity within the heart of Christchurch's CBD. |
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Gardensity - new ideas for Christchurch One of the projects sponsored by Leighs Construction was Australian artist Ash Keating's Gardensity, a future vision for inner-city living in Christchurch. This art work is part of an interactive online dialogue which evolved following the September 4 earthquake – check it out and join the online discussion at www.gardensity.co.nz. The website has become an important archive of many thoughts and ideas regarding the future of Christchurch. |
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Students get valuable work experience Second-year University of Canterbury students Aaron Kibblewhite and Scott Woodhead consider themselves to be the luckiest students in their 2010 Bachelor of Civil Engineering class. |
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The pair spent the summer working on the Pole 3 project at Benmore Power Station, getting valuable work experience on one of the industry's most exciting projects. Before they graduate in two years time, they each need to complete 100 hours of work experience. Benmore Pole 3 is one of New Zealand's major construction projects. It is a new convertor station at Benmore to increase the capacity of the HVDC inner-island link, critical for enabling renewable generation to supply the North Island and for supporting South Island electricity demand in dry years. It is a phenomenally complex piece of work and a once in a lifetime project for the team at Leighs Construction. Leighs Construction has been on-site for the last nine months building the main structure for the new station. Using stateof-the-art thyristor technology, the new station will replace the 45-year old Pole 1 equipment and will be fully commissioned in April next year. Aaron and Scott say working on the Benmore Pole 3 project the Leighs Construction team was an incredible experience. |
"It is such an interesting project; where do you start?" Aaron says. "With the economic downturn, it was difficult to find work experience opportunities in the holidays. I had applied for heaps of jobs when I was given the chance to work at Leighs Construction. "Work experience for our course is about getting on the job and learning to use the tools and the practical side of civil engineering. You don't expect to be working on a project of this magnitude and complexity first up," Aaron says. "This is definitely the best experience; everything is done to the book which is a great place to begin your practical on-site training." Scott says the nature of the work was such that everything that was done was meticulously measured and constructed. "Heaps of other students were working on roading projects, measuring out lengths of roading, while we were |
Aaron Kibblewhite (left) and Scott Woodhead.
on a project working within a 0.5mm of variance. We were so fortunate to be doing hard out stuff." Aaron says you are always mindful that if anything goes wrong with the project the whole country will suffer through the loss of its electricity supply! The pair says the team at Leighs Construction were great to work with, taking the time to talk them through the drawings for the project and linking it with the actual construction work being done on site. The days were long at times – 6am to 8pm – but both the students valued the opportunity to be part of the Leighs Construction team and say the work experience will look great on their CV. |
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New approach to business Leighs Construction is continually looking to evolve the business to meet our clients' changing needs and deliver better design and construction solutions. |
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In recent times, our focus has shifted to one of project management and leadership, employing the highest calibre staff in the industry to work at the grassroots of our business to understand our clients' needs and deliver great projects. While construction remains at the core of the business, Leighs Construction is looking to add greater value to our projects by ensuring our staff understand our clients' businesses and can work with them to achieve even better results. Our staff get involved at the concept stage of each project. This helps to create an environment where innovation, ideas and effective problem solving are encouraged, and means everyone on the team has a sense of ownership and takes pride in the end result. |
This approach is backed up by good systems and proven practices. Every project has a detailed plan, which is monitored on a daily or weekly basis; the reporting systems are robust and transparent; quality assurance is always our top priority; and there is strict adherence to health and safety procedures. Wellington-based construction industry executive Brian Nightingale has joined the Leighs Construction team in a short-term operational role to transition the business and gear up for the demands of the rebuild. Brian has lead large New Zealand commercial construction companies and was recently the Government's representative on the project to redevelop Auckland's Eden Park for the Rugby World Cup. |
Also new to the team is Rob Logie who brings to Leighs Construction a background in project planning and scoping. This new appointment recognises the critical first step of delivering a successful design and build solution is to work with our clients to identify early the philosophy behind the project, its feasibility and be part of the initial planning. Leighs Construction has a highly skilled, experienced and extremely capable team to assist with your next project. Our staff work at the grassroots of our business and are found in the field, taking a handson approach to their work, building the relationships with our clients which are critical to delivering a successful project. |
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