Constructing a brand new, five building, 17-classroom school in under 12 months over winter may seem like a tall order. That was the brief for Mainzeal Property and Construction when it came to building Clearview Primary School in Rolleston, Canterbury. It was a GMP contract with a full design and construct element and as well as classrooms it had a library, hall/gym, offices, caretaker shed and associated parking and playgrounds. Amazingly the whole school was built in just under 300 days.

Paul Blackler, the general manager Southern region for Mainzeal said, “The thing that was unique about the project was that because of the speed with which it needed to be constructed, and because a large period of construction was over winter, we chose to build with light steel framing as opposed to timber. We were then not constrained with moisture content in the timber, therefore ensuring consistent quality and dimensional stability. Frames are strong yet lightweight making them easier for installers to handle. Supply and erection was done by N Steel a local steel framing manufacturer.

Like many parts of Canterbury, Rolleston was severely affected, in parts, by the earthquake, however the school structure stood up well and only had to close for a very short time for safety clearance.