The South Island’s Lincoln University has a few honours to its name. It’s the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere, has graduated some impressive alumni including Richie McCaw and Annabel Langbein, and now, boasts formidable XBEAM solutions including a 630sqm platform to call its own.

Around the start of 2021, the good sorts at Leigh’s Construction approached us with a challenge. They were to put a massive plant platform onto Lincoln Uni’s research building, but they hit a hurdle that’ll be familiar to those in the industry: the standard steel option planned was going to be too heavy. So heavy that even the platform itself wasn’t going to work, let alone the extra weight of extensive HVAC units and water tanks.

So we did what we do best: engineered a lighter, better solution based on XBEAMs, and took the opportunity to showcase our design and build process.

This marks one of the most complex projects we’ve worked on. Not just in terms of size, but also in terms of the requirements on site. The combined loading on each platform was in the order of five tonnes, and also had to accommodate flume stack towers that would be mounted on the platforms and extend around seven metres in the air. We also paid special attention to meeting seismic requirements, since the Canterbury region is prone to some devastating quakes.

As we worked with Lees Contracting to design and engineer the massive platforms on the research and science buildings, as well as a range of ladders and access solutions, we also had to work with some restrictive connection points that wrapped around elevator shafts and service spaces. So we developed at least 40 unique ~250mm round aluminium legs that mounted to concrete plinths, and would provide a robust base to work off. From here we could install the XBEAMs, mesh, and acoustic paneling to keep the platforms discreet.

Working with a complex site and alongside roofing contractors meant that our installers were on site for around six weeks to complete this project – but the results definitely speak for themselves. Lincoln University and Lees Contracting gave us a healthy challenge with a huge mount and some unique requirements, but our design and engineering teams delivered what I think you’ll agree is a pretty exceptional outcome.