Silvester Clark are the structural engineers working on the new Woolworths Fresh Distribution Centre which is being developed to supply Countdown’s North Island stores. Located in Wiri, Auckland the 4.4Ha industrial site will house a distribution centre with a 2ha indoor floor area which will centralise Countdown’s fresh product operations in Auckland.
The building will be linked to the adjacent Hilton Foods warehouse to the West via an air bridge. At its highest point the warehouse is 17m high with an internal ceiling height of up to 12m. At 200m long and 100m wide the main building is equivalent to 4 rugby fields. The main distribution centre structure is a steel-framed structure with a footprint of circa 19,000m2. The 900m2 amenities building is located next to the main distribution centre.
Most of the amenities building has a lightweight metal roofing supported on cold-formed purlins and have a mix of metal and precast concrete panel cladding.
The main distribution centre’s roof and PIR ceiling are supported on trussed portal rafters and steel spine trusses. The roof and ceiling steelwork diaphragms span horizontally to distribute the seismic load out to the precast panels on the perimeter of the building.
The main structure is now completed, and seismic restraint work is under way. The projects completion date is estimated to be mid-2022.
