Opened in 2005, SKYCITY Grand Hotel provides five-star luxury accommodation in the heart of Auckland City. An impressive lobby and reception greets guests upon arrival while the upper floors accommodate 316 hotel rooms, a gymnasium, lap pool, alfresco dining and an outdoor courtyard. World aclaimed New Zealand chef Peter Gordon oversees the design and operation of the hotel’s trademark restaurant, 'dine by Peter Gordon'.
Beca provided structural, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, fire engineering and traffic engineering design and construction monitoring services.
Presented with a compact inner city site, Beca engineers were challenged by construction taking place above and around the fully operational conference site. Completion of the hotel was further constrained by the project's fast-track programme.
The hotel floor construction has a hybrid structural system, comprising long-span precast concrete elements supported by steel beams. A clever method was devised for propping a portion of the floor weight during construction, allowing smaller beams to be used. This system yielded increased ceiling heights and allowed rapid erection of the primary structure.