Projects

Right partners key to success of Yellow’s treehouse

Faced with the mission to deliver a restaurant ten metres up a redwood tree, project managers The Building Intelligence Group, chose a construction company they could totally trust to get the job done. That company was NZ Strong.

The mystical treehouse restaurant in Rodney’s Redwood forest was constructed for Yellow Pages’ latest ‘reality’ television commercial, as part of a campaign to show that no matter what the project, Yellow can help find the people to complete it.

In August last year, The Building Intelligence Group received a call from Colenso BBDO, who created the campaign, and who had promised Yellow they’d have a completed treehouse by December. That left just four months to deliver from scratch, including finding a tree.

The Building Intelligence Group, Auckland general manager, Gareth Skirrow says finding the right partners to deliver the project and meet the timing challenge was critical – not to mention the challenges presented by its unique engineering aspects, finding a tree, completing design and obtaining consents.

Due to the unique engineered solution for the treehouse it was imperative that the builder and the engineer, Holmes Consulting, worked closely to deliver a safe complying structure.
“In the end, this project has been all about finding the right organisation with the right sort of people, including an ability to work in a truly collaborative partnership. With NZ Strong, it’s not just about their ability on site, but their proactive approach and overall view on how construction process should and can be done.”

NZ Strong and others involved in the project saw the benefit of being able to promote themselves as a solutions-driven and innovative company, and the exposure they could get through being involved in such a unique project, and their commitment to completing the job for Yellow was phenomenal, Gareth says.

He adds that NZ Strong already had a proven track record as creative and innovative thinkers, most recently receiving recognition in the 2008 New Zealand of Institute Building awards for constructing a 120 metre walkway over a busy eight-lane section of the North Shore motorway with minimal disruption to traffic, and for the skilful and safe relocation of the 60 year old Blister Hangar at Auckland’s MOTAT Museum.

NZ Strong managing director, Shane Brealey believes experience and a quality team were key to the treehouse success, enabling critical decisions to be made quickly.
“The easy answer is often ‘no, it can’t be done’. However, with the right people and a can-do positive attitude, almost anything is possible. The team on the treehouse gelled immediately, and that was so important on a project like this that was sharp, hard and fast, and basically firing all the time.”

Shane adds that the industry typically uses a limited array of construction solutions and there is too little collaborative planning.

Gareth agrees: “Early involvement with the entire project team on the treehouse ensured issues were isolated quickly, and buildability was always a big factor in the decision making process. Because of programme pressures we couldn’t just dictate what we wanted built. It had to be a true partnership to find the best, fastest and most cost effective way to build iit.”

Shane notes that prefabrication was one of the items nominated as key to the success of the project due to the isolated location, and for speed of construction in the tight timeframe.
As many things as possible were premade and brought to site, such as the bridge trusses and exterior fins.

Shane believes this discipline could, and should, be used on other sites for best results: “It’s a smart thing to do – even if there’s a Placemakers down the road, you should think like you’re at the South Pole and improve your planning accordingly. It’s seen as less flexible, but what it does do is make you think about it more. It’s about good planning at the start, and the time you can save and efficiencies you can create.”

On smaller projects in particular, with time and money pressures, everything is against you, and the power of a team with a common mindset and ability to innovate, collaborate, communicate and work in a true partnership cannot be underestimated, he says, but this should of course be applied to any job.

“As the famous New Zealander, Ernest Rutherford said: ‘We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think.’ More than ever in this market, it is vital to innovate and find better solutions.”

The treehouse is being run as a ‘by appointment only’ restaurant over summer.
Unfortunately it is completely booked out, and there will be no more bookings. The team at Redwoods forest (who will own it after the restaurant is finished) are working on plans to open to the public on an ongoing basis. Click here for more information.

more info:

http://www.thebuildingintelligencegroup.co.nz/

www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz

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