New World Durham Street

New World’s upmarket inner-city building was a topic of excitement for its Christchurch customers when it first opened – but under the surface there were some challenges.

Powell Fenwick undertook the Structural and Civil engineering services for the building on the geotechnically difficult site. Boasting 50 percent more store space than its South City predecessor, the Foodstuffs’ new grocery store had big plans which included a 65-seat café, fresh food deli, ecostore refillery, bakery, butchery and more.

Our team’s mission was to engineer the supermarket to retain its feel as a luxury shopping experience with modern amenities and coveted central location, while still being structurally practical.

To accommodate the architectural finishes of the building and its operations as a supermarket, the above ground structure included a mixture of concrete and steel.

Nestled on piled foundations of 24 metres in depth, significant structural foundation work was required to manage the liquefiable ground conditions – an ever-defining feature of Christchurch’s post-earthquake reality.

The food hall included a post-tensioned, ground concrete polished floor as a wearing slab, with careful detailing around other structure. This ensured a crack-free concrete solution for durability and longevity.

The finished building has given rise to accolades and stands out as a leader across New World Supermarkets.