Brian Perry Civil

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value of between $5 million and $20 million

PROJECT: Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. CONTRACTOR: Brian Perry Civil

National significance

The Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial project assigned a high level of responsibility to the Brian Perry Civil team, with a high level of care and innovation required in both the planning and construction of this unique structure.

Chosen from over 300 designs submitted in a worldwide architecture design competition, the memorial features a 112.5 metre long by 3.6 metre high reflective marble wall inscribed with the names of the people who died as a result of the earthquake.

The memorial spans both sides of the Avon River, with the wall located on the sunnier south bank and a remembrance garden on the north bank.

The project was constructed in an extremely tight timeframe as it was essential it was completed for the official unveiling and opening on the seventh anniversary of the tragedy. The construction also brought unique challenges associated with the environmentally sensitive location, and the sensitivities of families who had lost loved ones.

Over the course of the construction BPC was able to bring improvements to the design, such as the piling, drainage and concrete slab methodology. This led to a more cost-effective and higher quality end result, which impressed the client, as did the level of knowledge and ‘can-do’ attitude and solutions focus displayed by the BPC team.

BPC was also able to maintain a high environmental standard during the build by taking a range of steps to ensure the river, its banks and the aquatic life were not unduly disturbed, that noise levels during the piling were minimised and the site was kept tidy at all times.

Completed in February this year, the memorial is of national significance – a fitting tribute and place to reflect and remember the tragic events of the 2011, 6.3 magnitude Canterbury earthquake, the 185 people who lost their lives and those who were injured.

The success of the memorial and completing it on time was dependent on BPC creating a robust construction programme, developing an excellent relationship with the client, designers, consultants and subcontractors, showing mindful leadership and having a team who were totally committed to the project. l