Lady Wigram

The client

Crackenthorpe Holdings Ltd are the holding company for Lady Wigram Village Ltd. Lady Wigram Retirement Village is a locally family-owned and family-run retirement living and care complex in Christchurch. The resort style facilities of the village include residential apartments, a theatre, a communal dining area, and an in-built swimming pool complex. The village prides themselves on offering the best of both independent and supported living.

The challenge

Our client required an integrated design approach that would enable the complex to be developed and constructed in stages. Working closely with our client and their architect, Foley Group Architecture, we were involved in the design process from the outset. This enabled us to tailor our design to suit our client’s requirements, including construction methodology, detailing and material choices.

Eliot Sinclair were engaged to provide structural design, geotechnical and civil engineering services for the stage 1 & 2 clubhouse buildings.

The three-storey clubhouse building included a swimming pool on the ground floor. This created an interesting design challenge for our team, with the area needed to accommodate the pool creating a complex load path for the upper floors.

The solution

Our designs for the three-storey pool and apartment building used a carefully considered transfer structure to redirect vertical and lateral loads around the pool and down to the supporting foundations. This building was specifically designed so it could be constructed floor by floor to enable a flexible construction program and included designs for suspended concrete floors, shallow foundations, ground floor slab, reinforced concrete block walls, and lateral bracing.

The architectural form of the building and the many heating and ventilation services penetrations that needed to be accommodated within the structural system resulted in a complex structural design. We worked closely with the architect and contractor throughout the design and construction phase to remediate any challenges.

The two-storey entry, clubhouse and apartment building required designs for shallow foundations and ground floor slab, a suspended concrete midfloor, and reinforced concrete wall panels and masonry wall as well as the steel roof structure.

To further facilitate a fast and staged construction process, we designed and detailed precast concrete wall panels and beams, the steel roof structure and precast floor elements for off-site prefabrication.

We also completed a geotechnical site investigation to advise on geotechnical design parameters and restraints, and a site survey. Our team then provided a coordinated design package for building consent and construction observation services throughout construction. Working closely with the client and their architect, we provided designs and solutions that enabled a staged construction and controlled construction costs.