The Brunel Medal: International recognition for Christchurch’s horizontal rebuild team

The Canterbury earthquakes have created a vast amount of destruction but also put the engineering industry in the spotlight. In response, civil engineers from New Zealand and all over the world are contributing to Christchurch’s infrastructure rebuild under the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) alliance.

SCIRT, comprising five construction companies, local and central government, with engineering designers seconded from many companies, local and international, was recently awarded a prestigious engineering award from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE - United Kingdom).

Previously the medal has been awarded to one other Southern Hemisphere civil engineering group in Seoul in 2009. Otherwise the recipients and projects since 1995 have largely been from the United Kingdom.

The medal recognises excellence in civil engineering. In awarding the Brunel Medal, the Institution noted:

“This project highlights the scale of the task and the number of people involved, showing outstanding teamwork and collaboration. This was a natural disaster of great magnitude and shows the dedication to a project of immense scale. It has placed civil engineering in the forefront of people's minds.”

Duncan Gibb, SCIRT general manager, said the international recognition was a great boost for the people in the field and the designers working in circumstances unprecedented in New Zealand and in many other countries.

“We have got five years to get the city’s core, damaged and destroyed infrastructure back up and running, with three years left to complete our programme of work. The horizontal infrastructure rebuild involves the wastewater, fresh water and storm water networks, as well as retaining walls, road repairs and bridges. What is being rebuilt has to be resilient and better able to withstand any future earthquakes. We have had to look outside the square and come up with imaginative solutions in many parts of the city to protect the city’s major infrastructure assets.

“At the same time, with the central city now rebuilding, we have to keep traffic flowing and allow businesses to flourish, despite these major engineering projects in the road. The people of Christchurch continue to show patience around our work sites and our work crews and in turn we do whatever we can to minimise the effects of our work on their lives.”

ICE President Barry Clarke presented the medal while visiting Australia and New Zealand last month. He noted that SCIRT provided an excellent foundation for collaboration in all areas. “SCIRT’s work is outstanding and I am delighted the team has been awarded the Brunel Medal,” he said.

For more on Barry Clarke’s visit to New Zealand: http://www.ice.org.uk/News-Public-Affairs/ICE-News/President-Visits-Australia-and-New-Zealand
For information on SCIRT and its five-year work programme, have a look around the web site.
www.strongerchristchurch.govt.nz

Background on the medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE):
Brunel Medal
“The purpose of this award is to recognise valuable service or achievement, which has been rendered to or within the civil engineering industry. Eligibility includes all grades of membership, local authorities, contractors, firms of consulting engineers, educationalists and any person or organisation connected with the civil engineering profession, with particular consideration being given to teams which include chartered / incorporated engineers and engineering technicians.”

Read more about Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the British engineer who designed railways, bridges, the Thames tunnel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel

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