News

GBC News is the quarterly industry publication of Golden Bay Cement:  Please click on the links below to view the latest issues of GBC News:

Spring 2009 Issue 
Winter 2009 Issue
Spring 2008 Issue
Autumn 2008 Issue
Spring 2007 Issue

Cementing their Support

Golden Bay Cement and Pacific Steel have re-signed an agreement to support teaching and research into structural concrete design in The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Read more...

Concrete Enhances New Plymouth Foreshore Development

LOCALS and visitors to Taranaki can now promenade with the best in the world on New Plymouth’s waterfront foreshore. The foreshore development, which consists of a concrete walkway with a timber deck and boulders leading up from the sea, has offered access to what was previously a mostly unattractive and inaccessible waste land. Stage Four of the project, a one kilometre section of the promenade and a 5.5 metre high retaining wall, is due for completion prior to Christmas this year. Stresscrete supplied the Precast Concrete panels for this stage, produced with Golden Bay Cement. The retaining wall and walkway section, located at the northern end of the foreshore development, is often subjected to high seas, so concrete provides a high strength, resilient and durable material.

Hayden Markham of Stresscrete in New Plymouth explains that the retaining wall structure creates an arm-like support between the cliff wall and floor. The massive 16.8 tonne panels are tapered in thickness from a 650mm base to 250mm at the top to allow for the large pressure created behind the wall. The panels are 2.5 metres wide and were produced in varying heights - 2.6m, 5.1m and 5.5m. “Precast Concrete panels provided a flexible construction component that created a structurally sound retaining wall able to withstand the natural elements,” says Hayden Markham. 1,100m3 of concrete were supplied by Firth Certified to produce 186 Precast Concrete panels for Stage Four. In keeping with the simple, clean design envisaged by designers Isthmus Consultants and Richard Bain, 90 of the panels have an exposed aggregate finish while the remaining 96 are finished with a timber impregnated look. As shown in the picture below,

this creates a wave washed appearance on the seaside leading to a smooth look mimicking a sandy beach at low tide on the city side of the pathway. The concrete pathway which, once completed, will meander for six kilometres along the New Plymouth coastline, is complemented by robust boulders on the seaward side and simple, robust landscaping on the city side of the walkway. All of which suit the harsh environment created by an often unpredictable Tasman Sea. But despite the conditions, the waterfront is now an area that is well utilised by residents - a place to mix and mingle, and enjoy the Taranaki coastline. Principle contractor Fletcher Construction’s Bob Thomson says, “The foreshore project has caused the city to focus their outlook towards the sea, where previously many of the buildings had turned their back on the coastline. Various new buildings have since been constructed, are under construction or are proposed which are taking advantage of the improved outlook. The foreshore is now visited by crowds of Taranakians on a daily basis and is also very popular with visitors to the region.”

NZ Concrete Society Awards 2003

This year's NZ Concrete Society Concrete Awards once again included a wide range of projects covering the scope of concrete applications. Several of the winning and highly commended projects utilised Golden Bay Cement product.

We have featured here some of those projects. Our congratulations go to all winners and entrants of this year’s Awards.

Three Storey Precast Concrete Home - Residential Award Winner

- Wilco Precast/Bridgeman Concrete

This home shows the appeal of the durability and comfort attributes of insulated concrete as a building material. This unique home has five levels that are spread over three storeys, and is comprised of 90 precast panels finished to paint quality on both interior and exterior faces. Oriented to ensure that passive solar heating would be enhanced, the home has demonstrated remarkable consistency in comfortable daytime interior temperatures. A stunning example of Precast Concrete at its finest.

Precast Concrete Products- Technology Award Winner

- Firth Industries

This entry reflected advances in techniques for making internally baffled sewerage treatment tanks. These concrete tanks, which were previously produced using plastering process evolutionised by the successful use of stress fibre-reinforced, self compacting concrete.

The judges were especially impressed by the way in which this new concrete technology had been used to produce tanks efficiently, with an 80% reduction in labour content. The initiative required new moulds, specifically designed for casting the 50mm sections with the new mix design, with particular features that enabled easy casting and tripping.Because the concrete requires no vibration, the moulds are subjected to minimal wear and are expected to last indefinitely.

Ferrier House Paving Landscaping Award Winner

- W Stevenson & Sons

The exterior finishing of a well established and recently renovated residence has been especially well done. The design has, as its focus, a large pool, tennis court and various outbuildings. To complement the use of sandstone in the interior of the house, concrete pavers, steps and copings were specially cast, colour-matched and honed to produce a sandstone-like finish.

They were augmented with special planter caps, plinths and water feature caps. The result is a very high quality paved finish that complements the weathered plaster of the residence with a durable landscape feature. This outdoor area is a clear statement for the versatility of concrete.

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