On top of the gravel we laid a DPM plastic which was to go below the polystyrene sheets. We had to run to collect concrete blocks and block cut-offs to hold down the DPM from waving around and flying away in the wind before laying the polystyrene with blocks on top too.Next we bent the D12 steel... View full entry

Lastly the truck brought in a finer metal aggregate which would we had about a 50mm layer of, which was compacted to 50mm from the top (approximated from a 45 x 90 timber block placed flat on the perimeter of the floor). We then spread the aggregate evenly to compact and level. View full entry

Preparing the foundations for concrete pouring, the gravel needed to be poured on in layers and then compacted. This continued until the gravel was compacted and leveled to about 75mm from the top of the concrete block footings. View full entry

Almost done. Working on wardrobes and installing shelving, rail bars, adjustable shelving fittings and drawer fittings. View full entry

Scotia, architraves and skirtings... Sanding, painting, drying and painting. A lot to do but cheesily: many hands make light work. View full entry

Today we picked up the kitchen cabinetry we had CNC routed by rainbow furniture. After arriving we realised that the cabinets would be a giant jigsaw puzzle to put together as there were many pieces. Transporting them back to the workshop at UNITEC so that we could assemble them off site. View full entry

In order to continue with the internal work on the bathroom pod we need to create a weather tight environment so we could ensure that the moisture levels inside the bathroom were kept at an acceptable level for the pre lining inspection. To do this we needed to install a temporary roof on the... View full entry

Today we set out to build the only ceiling in the house which is located in the bathroom. The rest of the house will have the exposed underside of the SIPs roofing panels although the bathroom will require additional bracing while being transported so a ceiling was necessary to provide the... View full entry

For the past few weeks the team has been working on the exterior cladding of the house. This has involved cutting, routing, priming, painting, putting the flashings in place and nailing. Accuracy and keeping the walls in square is key to the house being able to fit together properly when we... View full entry

The concrete truck was coming early so the boys had an even earlier start to the day - everyone in a rush to get the precast construction ready for pouring.They had constructed a temporary roof that will cover the concrete while it is drying. This is to protect it from Auckland's schizophrenic... View full entry

A 5am start before sunrise, we all met up at Orakei on site for a traditional Maori blessing of the land where we would eventually assemble our house.At sunrise we all met up again to begin working on setting up string lines, preparing the excavation lines for digging.  View full entry

A question was asked about the pre cast concrete we have been working on as to what exactly was the pre cast concrete for.To clarify it is the floor of the bathroom and laundry.These are some drawings that illustrate the area that is the concrete slab we are pouring off site and how it will be... View full entry

The team continued work on the wall panels by fixing support bars for the windows in the openings as well as started to clad the external walls on the north and south façades.This cladding process involved painting the wall panels, laying and fixing the 'z' and head flashings we had made for the... View full entry

Over the last few days we have been working on the steel reinforcing in the pre cast concrete slab. This was a difficult process to get right and took some time to complete the many links and ties to construct the cages of steel.After we had completed this the engineer came to site to check that... View full entry

Before we could fix any RAB board to the wall frames we needed to check that the wall was square and had not grown due to creeping measurements as we constructed it. Once we had check these we were able to apply RAB board to the exterior face of the walls in place of standard building paper. All... View full entry

With only a few wall frames left to complete we are almost done with the first step of the prefabrication process. Next we will move onto fixing rab board to the frames which will replace building paper. This is to ensure each wall panel is braced while being transported to site and erected. We... View full entry

Today we started the first step in our construction phase of studio 19. We began the day with a tutorial by James from crate construction on how to frame a wall. He went through nailing and cutting techniques, as well as important things to think about while framing the wall. We then proceeded to... View full entry

Today we met at the UNITEC workshop where we will be prefabricating much of the building ready to transport and assemble on site. Sadly there has been a delay with the construction contract that will not be signed until Friday the 20th.Instead of completely losing a week worth a work we began... View full entry

The next step in our preparation for the build phase of the project was to familiarise ourselves with the tools we would be using. Dave shared his knowledge with us a showed us the correct was to use the tools as well as explaining the dangers of the tools we were using. Some of the students had... View full entry

After taking a broad range of design alternatives and amalgamating them into one design we presented this scheme to the clients. With a positive response from the clients and discussions about materials we will continue working to the detailed design for our next presentation. View full entry

After receiving feed back from the Clients for each scheme and assessing each others work we have the difficult task of bring together four very good and quite different schemes into one design. View full entry

Team Wha: Aseel Al-azi, Craig Pauling, Georgia Hay and Rory Keegan. View full entry

Team Toru: Waseem Chiraagh, Hannah Stephenson, Ameline Liew and Angus Beaton. View full entry

Team Rua: Jack O'Neill, Hannah Smith, Samuel Lawson and Lisa Humphrey. View full entry

Team Tahi: Jonnel Mamauag, Matthew Beneka, Jessica Hulme and Ashleigh Smith View full entry

So after a few weeks of designing the four group had a presentation to the Clients at Ngāti Whātua O Ōrākei head quarters. These presentations went well with the clients showing enthusiasm in the work the students had done thus far. View full entry

The different teams working on their designs in studio at UNITEC. View full entry

After two days of intensive studio we had some conversations surround what the different groups had come up with. Some good work has come out of such a good time but also a lot of questions raised, more work to be done still. View full entry

Took a couple of hours out on the second day up at Mangawhai to look at some of the architecture in the area. Dave showed us around Mangawhai and some of the work SGA has done in the area. View full entry

The students all worked late into the night at Mangawhai trying to solve all the complex issues of the brief.  View full entry