North Canterbury Schools

The project involved the expansion and upgrade of multiple education facilities, including Oxford Area School, Rangiora Borough School, Ashgrove School, and Southbrook School.

To achieve economies of scale, the works were amalgamated into a single construction contract.

The design incorporated underfloor heating and natural ventilation, utilising actuated windows to provide passive cooling solutions.

At Southbrook School, the new building was constructed as a two-storey structure connected to an existing block, with a seismic gap introduced to safely accommodate the interface between old and new structures.

Cuesko was engaged from preliminary design through to detailed design, providing comprehensive cost planning and cost estimation services. Cuesko also assisted with the tender process and provided post-contract quantity surveying services, including the review and processing of payment claims and variation requests through to final account completion.

The project presented several challenges that provided valuable experience for subsequent projects. These included discrepancies between engineering and architectural design documentation, as well as design changes occurring during the tender period, resulting in cost measures and estimates being regularly superseded.

Cuesko also allowed for a high variation contingency, which ultimately was not fully utilised and enabled the client to reallocate funds to other project priorities.