Transpower Control Rooms

Transpower have a requirement for portable control buildings for its new digital substation. We have now completed the first buildings which have been installed on sites in Taranaki and Southland, with future buildings nationwide.  Built to Importance Level 4, the building has to stay operational during and after a major seismic event.

Each building is 53m² and constructed at Fosters’ Hamilton engineering facility and transported to site with two 6m² decks, weighing around 27 tonnes. Cross laminated timber panels form the walls, floor and roof over a structural steel floor frame. Structural work, fitout, roofing and cladding ran in parallel, with steelwork and decks fabricated in house. FRP decking, earth strapping and exposed CLT with intumescent coating suit the electrical environment.

Modules were bolted to permanent foundations on arrival. Building offsite kept the control building clear of site groundworks and transformer installation, giving Transpower flexibility across the wider substation programme.