BRANZ Campus Redevelopment

The Building Research Association’s (BRANZ’s) Porirua testing and research campus is undergoing a transformation. The staged demolition of several buildings on site is making way for the construction of new state-of-the-art testing and research facility comprising of a 2,200sqm fire testing laboratory, a 520sqm structures laboratory, a 430sqm storage facility and a 800sqm administration building.

The new fire and structures facilities will support innovative research and full-scale testing, and enable BRANZ scientists to better simulate real-world conditions. In addition to enhancing BRANZ's testing capabilities, the upgrade will also contribute to the improvement of current emissions by incorporating a wet scrubber.

RCP has carried out extensive stakeholder engagement throughout the design phases to ensure the needs of all interested parties are identified and met, delicate testing requirements are safeguarded and BRANZ’s operational standards are achieved.

Importantly, the existing BRANZ facility must remain operational for the programme’s duration. RCP’s detailed planning and staging has allowed for the decant, demolition and enabling works, followed by construction and commissioning of the new buildings, to occur with no disruption to BRANZ’s day-to-day operations.

The timing and coordination for procuring specialist equipment has been carefully calculated to inform the fabrication and delivery windows, and to ensure installation and commissioning timeframes are maintained.