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New Zealand
Sub-industry
Heritage
Problems
Ground Improvement
Location
Hamilton
Year
2023
Solutions
Ground Improvement
Technology
Teretek® Ground Improvement
The Waikato Regional Theatre is a multipurpose performing arts centre with a 1300-seat auditorium, which will host a wide range of arts and cultural performances and activities.
Background
After the closure of the old theatre, planning started for an ambitious and large-scale development of an arts precinct for the region. In 2017, the Hamilton Hotel site near the top of the Waikato river bank was selected.
The project included preserving a neoclassical facade from the 1920s, as well as extensively developing and revitalising the surrounding area.
The Issue
As part of the development project, it was identified that ground improvement was required to increase the capacity of the underlying soils to support the proposed new theatre and multiple hospitality venues.
A key constraint of the project was to complete the ground improvement works without disturbing the existing heritage elements of the structure. The irregular topography and site area was another constraint that the team navigated.
The foundation system consisted of concrete floor slabs with shallow concrete footings. Ground improvement works were planned to target depths between the underside of the footing and up to 0.6m below ground level. The target bearing capacity for the project area was 700 kPa.
Solution
Due to constraints and specifications of the project, Teretek was chosen as the ground improvement solution. Teretek is a non-invasive ground improvement technique, validated by geotechnical testing that densifies soil to subsequently increase bearing capacity to the specified target.
Mainmark injected resin materials at depths of up to 600mm beneath the existing footings. The low-viscosity resin permeates the soil and moves along planes of weaknesses within the soil profile. The material reacts soon after injection, rapidly expanding to many times its original volume, which results in compaction of the adjacent soils.
The precise nature of this method is ideal for sites where heritage preservation is needed.
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Resources
Download a pdf version of this project here
Ground Improvement For Historic Waikato Regional Theatre
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