Admiralty Court

This is a four-story apartment building with shops on the first floor. Tilt-up construction was chosen for speed of erection (11 weeks for walls and floors), economy and durability. Tilt-up panels provide the exterior as well as the stairwells and the fire/sound walls that separate the units. Floors are suspended from anchors embedded in the panels, but not protruding. This allowed the full-height, 42-foot panels to be erected first, followed by the floor system.

The outside surfaces of the panels were painted with a four-coat acrylic paint system. The interior surfaces were generally lined with gypsum wallboard over wood furring. Exterior walls are insulated with extruded Styrofoam insulation under the gypsum wallboard.

The building team comprised: Alan Reay Consultants, Ltd., Christchurch, engineer; Sumich Architects, Auckland; and CDB Construction, Ltd., Christchurch, who served as both general and tilt-up contractor. The owner is Brian Gillman, Ltd., Christchurch.