Christchurch Engineers & Consultants

Engineering Company in Christchurch, New Zealand

Beca is one of the leading consulting and engineering companies in Christchurch. We’re a full-service general consulting engineering firm, specialising in areas including civil, structural, geotechnical, mechanical, fire and environmental engineering, as well as environmental consulting and land surveying services when projects call for them.

For more than a century, our engineering consultants have supported New Zealand businesses, public agencies and local communities with practical engineering solutions across buildings, infrastructure and industry. As a longtime engineering partner to Christchurch, we understand the importance of creating safe, resilient spaces – particularly as the city continues to rebuild and reimagine its future.

If you need innovative solutions for complex projects in and around Christchurch, get in touch to say hi!

Our Engineering Services

From our Christchurch office, we provide a coordinated team across key disciplines so your project can move from concept through to construction with fewer handovers and clearer accountability.
 
Whether you’re a council, developer, asset owner or local business, you can access structural, civil, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical, fire, earthquake, and environmental engineers, as well as specialists in land development and water supply infrastructure.

Civil Engineering

Civil engineering in Christchurch keeps the city moving and its services working. Our team plans and designs transport routes, intersections and major cycleways, as well as stormwater, wastewater and trunk water supply networks. We also support land development by shaping earthworks, access roads and connections back into existing three waters and transport infrastructure.

On many projects, our civil engineers are involved from the first feasibility sketches through to construction support. They work alongside geotechnical engineering and structural specialists so roads, pavements, bridges, retaining structures and building platforms are compatible with both ground conditions and intended use.

Structural Engineering

In a city shaped by earthquakes, structural engineering underpins almost every decision. Our Christchurch structural team works on new buildings and infrastructure, but also spends a significant amount of time assessing and strengthening existing assets so clients can weigh up options for safety, staging and cost.

Projects can range from hospitals and commercial buildings to industrial facilities, bridges and water infrastructure. Wherever possible, we aim to bring earthquake engineers, architects, geotechnical engineers and building services teams into the conversation early so structural form, architecture and services layout can develop as a coordinated design.

Mechanical Engineering

Our mechanical engineers support building services and industrial plants across Christchurch and Canterbury. Heating and cooling systems, ventilation, pumping, and key process equipment are all designed with energy use, reliability and maintenance in mind.

You’ll see that at work in projects such as hospitals, airports, manufacturing facilities and water treatment plants. Mechanical design in such settings often to navigate tight plantrooms and critical redundancy, and benefits from our close attention to layouts, equipment selection and control strategies.

Fire Engineering

Fire engineering gives shape to a project’s fire and life safety strategy. We develop solutions around prescriptive code requirements, factoring in with performance-based analysis where it’s needed, then document how the design supports safe evacuation and protects structure and services.

Sites we work on include hospitals, transport hubs, commercial buildings and industrial sites with higher fire loads. We think early on about evacuation routes, compartmentation, structural fire resistance and services, and testing options so the final solution is buildable, easy to operate and straightforward to explain at the consent stage.

Electrical Engineering

Our electrical engineering services encompass power distribution, lighting and control systems for a wide range of buildings and infrastructure. We develop designs with clear separation of essential loads, safe operation and straightforward maintenance as core principles. Our broader power systems engineering capability includes cable systems design and functional safety expertise, ready to draw on for more demanding projects.

Projects we’ve worked on span hospital campuses to airport terminals to industrial sites and beyond. In these complex environments, electrical design has to manage issues like staged cut-overs and high levels of redundancy. To account for this, we focus on arrangements that keep power available while work is carried out and as the asset evolves.

Land Development

Our land development engineers help shape new residential, commercial and industrial areas across Christchurch and the wider region. We bring together civil and geotechnical engineering, three waters and access design so that new sites connect smoothly into existing roads and water supply, wastewater and stormwater networks.

That might mean shaping bulk earthworks and building platforms, laying out internal streets and intersections, and threading walking and cycling routes through the site alongside stormwater and other water management measures. We also consider block patterns and the relationship between buildings, open space and streets so new neighbourhoods feel like a natural extension of the Christchurch we know and love.

Our Work in Christchurch

Some of our biggest residential and commercial projects have been in Christchurch. Our civil engineering solutions include structural steel fabrication, land development and construction. Whatever the project, our highly skilled team takes a comprehensive approach to making informed decisions to meet our clients' unique needs.

Christchurch Biosolids Drying Facility

To support the city’s long-term sustainability goals, Beca partnered with the Christchurch City Council on the design and delivery of a new biosolids drying facility. Our team provided engineering and project management services for this highly efficient facility, which reduces waste volume while capturing heat energy – a smart, future-focused solution for urban infrastructure.



Major Cycle Routes

Encouraging active transport and building safer connections, Beca worked closely with the Christchurch City Council to design and deliver over 100km of dedicated cycling infrastructure. The project required a blend of civil, geotechnical, and transport engineering expertise, and reflects our commitment to creating more liveable, sustainable cities.



Christchurch Airport Integrated Terminal

As part of a wider transformation of Christchurch Airport, Beca helped deliver a seamless, integrated terminal experience through structural engineering, industrial equipment layout planning, and project coordination. The result is a modern, efficient space designed with both passengers and operations in mind.



Waipapa Acute Services Building

Waipapa is one of New Zealand’s most advanced healthcare facilities. Beca provided a full range of engineering services – from structural and geotechnical to building services and project management – to support this complex and vital development. Our work helped deliver a safe, resilient environment that supports clinical excellence and patient care.



Christchurch Hospital Onsite Energy Centre

To ensure uninterrupted power for Christchurch Hospital’s critical services, Beca led the engineering design of the new Energy Centre. The facility includes a highly resilient power supply system, with future-focused planning to support hospital growth. This project highlights our expertise in essential infrastructure and our commitment to safety and reliability.



Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT)

Following the devastating 2010–2011 earthquakes, Beca played a central role in SCIRT, a collaborative alliance formed to rebuild the city’s underground infrastructure. From structural and geotechnical engineering to civil design and project delivery, we worked alongside engineering industry partners to restore essential services and support a Christchurch rebuild for long-term recovery.

Awards

2016–2013 SCIRT Programme Awards

Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) – multiple honours recognising the collaborative engineering effort to restore the city’s horizontal infrastructure after the Canterbury earthquakes, including:

2016 ACENZ Awards - Special Award for the Consulting Industry’s Collaboration in the Rebuild of Christchurch’s Public Infrastructure

2016 Champion Canterbury Business Awards - Infrastructure/Trades Award for the horizontal infrastructure rebuild programme 

2016 IPWEA Excellence Awards - Best Public Works Project (under $5m category)

2013 NZEE Awards - Excellence in Community Engagement

2012 12D International Innovation Awards - Gold

Frequently Asked Questions

How early should we involve your Christchurch team in our project planning?
It’s usually best to contact us as soon as you’re starting to define the scope, budget and programme for your project, even if you don’t have drawings yet. Early conversations let us flag planning, ground or infrastructure constraints, and identify key risks and opportunities. It also helps shape a programme that gives enough time for design, approvals and procurement. That way you’re making early decisions with a clear view of the engineering implications instead of having to revisit them later.

How do you typically work with our in-house team or other consultants?

We fit into the team structure you already have, whether that means taking a lead engineering role or contributing as one of several technical specialists or other firms. At the start we agree how decisions will be made, who is responsible for what, and how information will flow. From there we keep technical discussions as open and practical as possible, so your wider team can see how engineering advice links back to design intent, construction and operations. Many of our senior people are Chartered Professional Engineers (CPEng) in New Zealand, allowing you to align roles with your own technical governance requirements.

How do you approach risk and uncertainty on complex Christchurch projects (ground conditions, consents, seismic issues)?

We start by making the main uncertainties explicit: for example, gaps in site information, ground behaviour, seismic performance expectations, or consent pathways. From there we work with you to decide what needs to be investigated, what can be managed through allowances or staging, and what should be treated as a hard constraint. Our aim is to give you a clear view of the key risks, options for dealing with them and the implications for cost, programme and performance, so you can choose the path that fits best.

What does your design and review process look like from concept through to construction support?

On most projects we move through concept, preliminary and detailed design stages, with defined checkpoints where we review assumptions, update estimates and confirm the level of documentation you need for consent and procurement. You’ll see a mix of drawings, models, calculations and reports aimed at making decisions easy to follow. During construction we can provide responses to requests for information, review key shop drawings or method statements, and attend site as agreed to help you and your contractor deal with design-related issues as they arise.

How do you communicate progress and changes during a project?

At the outset we agree how often you want updates and in what form, whether that’s structured progress meetings, email summaries or more detailed status reports tied to your governance process. As the work progresses, we highlight upcoming decisions, any emerging risks and any changes that could affect cost, timing or consents, rather than only reporting what has already been done. For more complex projects we can also help set up simple decision logs and action lists so everyone can see what has been agreed, what is still open and who is responsible for next steps.