MacLabs | Innovation Hub
Client: MacLab
Project Type: Commercial, Cost Management, Demolition, Fitout, Industrial
Project Manager: Dan Roberts, Drew Coleman
Location: Nelson
“It’s been a pleasure working with the BPM team, the results speak volumes about their professionalism and commitment to excellence. I’m looking forward to the next project we do with the BPM team”
Challenge
MacLab is a farm to factory facility that grows and harvests New Zealand green lipped mussels. Their team of engineers carefully extract the precious bioactives for use in health products and supplements.
The team at MacLab has expanded over the years, employing more staff and producing more product - and with that growth came the need for more space to carry out their day-today operations.
Their existing engineering facility was no longer meeting their needs. As a result, it was decided a new dedicated space was required - not only for the engineers, but also to provide additional office, meeting accommodation, a food lab facility and increased amenities.
The Innovation Hub brief specified:
A large secure workshop for the on-site engineers
A workshop office for access to manuals, ordering parts, and to plan and log maintenance
Additional storage for the high-cost engineering equipment & parts
Offer an increased office and meeting space to keep up with MacLab’s growing team
A food lab for testing products and developing new products, and to provide for quality control
Additional toilet and bathroom facilities to not only service the new building, but take some of the load from the wider site
One of the key challenges with the design of this building was how to incorporate the mutli-functional and unique requirements of each workspace, such as:
Engineers make a lot of noise with machinery and they need to move large machinery in and out, which can be hazardous for others passing through their workspace
The Quality Assurance (QA) team needs the food lab to be free from contaminates, easy to clean and with good ventilation
Office workers require a clean, quiet environment
In addition, MacLab’s overall facility is a busy industrial site which required a lot of consideration when planning the construction - ensuring disruption to day-to-day operations during the build is minimised.
Approach
Given the busy industrial nature of the site, and with the goal to minimise disruption to MacLab’s day-to-day operations, BPM engaged a design team that we not only knew could do the job well, but had existing familiarity of the site.
We established Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) with a Main Contractor to assist the design team - assessing buildability and anticipating any operational issues within the wider site. We also had our Quantity Surveyor (QS) involved early in the design process, to keep cost management in check. After a couple iterations of the design, we achieved a design that fit the budget and achieved the key performance requirements of the client brief.
We then negotiated a fair contract price with the Contractor and obtained building consent, ready to break ground.
In regards to fulfilling the mutli-functional requirements of each workspace - we achieved physical separation of the spaces not only vertically, but, horizontally - in order to meet MacLab’s needs - utilising a high level of insulation and an intermediate floor construction that would minimise sound transference.
First cut structural design for the building was largely pre-cast concrete walls. However, we changed this to a lightweight structure. By reducing the weight of the building considerably, we minimised the amount of excavation, reinforcing and concrete required in the foundations.
Photovoltaic panels (solar panels) were something MacLab wanted the option to invest in at a later date, so ducting has been installed to future-proof the build - allowing a more responsible approach to the project. A significant environmental and cost win achieved during the build was the initiative to construct a temporary retaining wall on the western side of the MacLab facility, by re-using and repurposing engineered fill and concrete panels previously removed site.
Outcomes
The stakeholders and site representatives remained closely involved throughout the project, which was good for coordinating with the wider site’s operations and logistics during the new build. Open and frequent communication with key stakeholders also helped ensure the client was informed and happy with quality, the aesthetics and general functionality during the job.
Client, Contractor and Engineer to the Contract (BPM) were able to work together to stay on top of risk management and mitigation allowing the tackling of any potential issues efficiently and proactively. The end result is a pleasant and functional building that came in under budget.
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