Although we recognise we have some of the best people on our staff, it's nice when our peers and other professionals recognise the quality of our work through the many awards we have received.

2008

Westpac / Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Award
Our office in New Plymouth (New Zealand) has won a 2008 Westpac / Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Award in the category Best Service.  They also received a Highly Commended in the category Employer of Choice.

Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) - Silver Award
Opus was the recipient of the Silver Award of Merit at the prestigious Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) for The Wellington Inner City Bypass (WICB). This brings to eight the number of awards won by the Opus WICB team led by Keith Atkinson, along with the other partners to the project - the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Wellington City Council and the contractor, Fulton Hogan.

Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) - Merit Award
Opus projects winning ACENZ Merit Awards in 2008 were:
- The Mt Grand Reservoir, Dunedin (led by Ian Walsh) for the innovative design of this raw water reservoir using polyethylene liner and a leak detection system.
- The Awaroa Overpass at Huntly (led by George Rogan) for the design of a prefabricated steel multi-plate shell covered by a low gradient soil embankment.
- The Hihitahi Bluffs realignment near Taihape (Bob Smith and his team) which has eliminated dangerous sections of SH1 which was prone to ice and poor sight lines.

Arthur Head Environmental Award
The Northern Busway on Auckland’s North Shore was recognised with the Arthur Head Environmental Award for environmental engineering.  This award is presented each year by the Auckland Branch of IPENZ in recognition of a project that best exemplifies care for and consideration of environmental values.  Additionally, the project was awarded the Transit New Zealand Best Project Award in the Large Project Category for 2007/2008.

2008 Dobson Award, IPENZ Supreme Technical Award
Tony Porter, Transportation Asset Management Sector Leader, was the recipient of the Dobson Award, the IPENZ Supreme Technical Award for Engineering Achievers in the category Roads and Transport for 2008. Over the last 17 years Tony has been instrumental in leading Opus' highway asset management capability in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the UK.

NZILA Award, Silver Award - Commercial Category
The Albany and Constellation Northern Busway Stations were recognised at the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) Resene Pride of Place Awards 2008, with a Silver Award in the Commercial category.

2007

2007 NZ Institute of Architecture/Resene Branch Award
Our architects in Napier, Richard Daniels and Anna Wright picked up the local Hawke’s Bay branch NZIA/Resene Commercial Building Award for their work transforming a former fire station to a modern office complex.  The judges praised the architectural design, saying it displayed a ‘seamless’ incorporation of the original 1930s fire station in Hastings into the new Staples Rodway office building which met the owners brief for  modern and functional spaces.

Carter Holt Timber Design Awards - Young Engineer Award
Winners of the Carter Holt Timber Design Awards were announced recently, with the Opus team of Elwin Brown, Frank 0’Boyle, and Mark Parker achieving a Highly Commended in the category ‘Young Engineer Award’ for their work on the Riverton Focal Point Development.  The development, which features the use of timber, reflects the early history of the region and has provided a focal point for the town of Riverton.  It is situated on a former disused site on the banks of the Jacobs River estuary.  The award is made in recognition of engineers 30 years or younger who have shown innovation in the intelligent use of timber for development projects.

Master Builders Federation National Industrial/Utility Award
The new Queenstown Courthouse, designed by Opus architect, Colin Corsbie won the Industrial/Utility section of the New Zealand Registered Master Builders Federation National Awards for the builders, Naylor Love Construction.  The judges said in their citation that the project was an outstanding example of design and construction excellence in workmanship, creativity and innovation.  The Courthouse was officially opened in early November 2006 by the Minister of Justice, Hon Rick Barker.

Greater Wellington Regional Council Environmental Award
The Wellington Inner City Bypass project team has won the Greater Welllington Regional Council Environmental Award.  The Council’s Environmental Nikau Compliance Award recognises the Bypass project team going above and beyond the conditions of the resource consent by providing innovative solutions to meet the difficult resource conditions, which included the management of stormwater and groundwater. The Opus team included Keith Atkinson, Ron McFadyen, Pathmanathan Brabhaharan, Beverly Curley, Ken Way, Steve Meredith, Ian Taylor, David Dunlop and Ken Boam.

Best Cycle Facility Project Award
The Wellington Inner City Bypass project team have won the Best Cycle Facility Project Award.  This award recognises the design and construction of a cycleway and pedestrian crossing that were part of the Inner City Bypass project in the vicinity of the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington.  Key members of the WICB Opus project team involved with the cycleway were David Dunlop for the design and Ron McFadyen for the construction implementation.  This award was sponsored by SPARC.

Business Excellence Awards – Wanganui Office
Opus Wanganui are the proud recipients of three Business Excellence Awards.  The awards have been running over the last four year’s and are awarded to local businesses who have contributed to the city and the community. Opus picked up the ACC Workplaces Safety Award, the Contribution to the Community Award, and the Service Business and Importing Excellence Award.  In addition Opus was a finalist in the Public Sector, Non-Government and Community Organisation Award

Pride in Workmanship Award
Darren Gilbertson from Opus Paeroa, New Zealand was awarded the Pride in Workmanship award by the Rotary Club of Paeroa.

2007 NZ Institute of Architecture/Resene Branch Award
The new NorthTec building has won the education category at the 2007 Auckland/Northland NZ Institute of Architects/Resene Awards.  The Opus architects team included Stuart Wheeler and Roy Alcock.

2007 NZ Institute of Architecture/Resene Branch Award
The recently opened Masterton Police Station, which was designed by members of the Opus architecture team, was awarded the Wellington Branch - 2007 NZ Institute of Architecture/Resene Award. The building design, which reflects the local environment, utilises totara and macrocarpa timber finishing features and makes good use of natural light to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.  A focal point of the foyer are the four Maori carvings and tutukuku panels. The new facility will cater for the expanding needs of the station and the Wairarapa region.

Govt3 Award for Sustainable Building Development
The New Zealand Police won the 2007 Government Award with their entry of the Manukau Police Station.  The station, which was designed by Auckland based architect Tony Martin, design technician Roy Alcock, and landscape architect Helen Preston Jones, was opened in February this year. 

New Zealand Concrete Society 2007 Infrastructure Award and the Supreme Award
Wellington’s Inner City Bypass has been awarded the 2007 Infrastructure Award and the Supreme Award from the New Zealand Concrete Society for outstanding achievement in the advancement of concrete in the design and innovative use of concrete in the construction.  The Bypass, which extends in four-lanes southwards from the Northern Motorway through a trench on the South-West fringe of the city, involved a long period of consultation with local stakeholders, resource consents, the design of a large stormwater drain, and the relocation and preservation of historically classified, turn of the Century houses.  The design and construction was carried out in a joint venture partnership with Opus, Fulton Hogan, the Wellington City Council and Transit New Zealand.

InfoWorks International Best Paper Award
Dan Stevens won an award for the ‘best paper’ in the water modelling stream at the InfoWorks International User Day Conference held at Wallingford, UK.  His paper was entitled ‘Taupo Bay Water Supply Strategy - Hydraulic Modelling.’  The conference is an international event and this year presentations were made by people from the USA, China, Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand on water collection systems modelling, water supply modelling, river systems and coastal engineering, flood management and forecasting. 

Get Sustainable Challenge Business Awards
The Tauranga office won the Trailblazer Large Business Award category in the ‘Get Sustainable Challenge Business Awards’.  The awards are in recognition of local companies in the Bay of Plenty who are committed to and involved in the practice of sustainability through every aspect of their operation including the use of resources, staff involvement and development, and creating and maintaining sustainable activities.  The office was able to demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability practices across a broad range of external services that they provide and show that they are focussed on the ongoing development of internal practices to ensure they are being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.  The office was also recognised for its environmental impacts and for undertaking energy, transport and waste audits. 

Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) - Silver Award
Opus was the recipient of the Silver Award at the prestigious Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) Awards dinner, which was held at the War Memorial Centre in Napier.  The Award was made for the work OPUS engineers completed on the seismic safety evaluation and upgrade of the Aviemore Hydro Dam on the Waitaki River.

Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand 2007 Awards
Helmut Houken and project team won the Major Projects Category Award and the Overall Excellence Award in the Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand 2007 Awards for their work for the new $160 million Otago Regional Corrections Facility at Milburn, near Dunedin.  Work included the electrical services design and the specification for the complete site, a state of the art campus style facility comprising some 26 buildings and central power generation system. A design feature included energy efficient light control and energy management systems.  The new facility, which opened earlier in the year, was purpose built with Opus people providing expertise in geotechnical, civil design, building services (electrical, heating, cooling systems, plumbing and drainage) and assisting the Sydney based architecture firm Perumal Pedavoli with architectural site management.

Shell Bitumen Excellence Award
The Opus Wanganui Roading Team has won the 2007 Shell Bitumen Excellence Award for a Major Project for the Hihitahi Bluffs development.  The project team had to give careful consideration to maintaining a pristine trout spawning river, a scenic reserve and a number of archaeological and historically important areas. Along with the highway realignment, three new bridges were also designed as part of the development. 

Volunteer Recognition Award (Conservation and Environment Award)
On Friday 22 June Opus Wanganui received a Volunteer Recognition Award (Conservation and Environment Award), for their efforts on a Kiwi Breeding Enclosure for Bird Rescue Wanganui-Manawatu.  The community project began in December 2004 and was completed in January 2006.  The contribution was labour, a total of just over 1600 hours, mostly in peoples own time. They constructed a 2m high, 30m x 30m predator proof enclosure and carried out the interior landscaping, creating habitat for two kiwi. 

Overall Prestige Award & Maritime Award, ICE Southern Branch
Venture Quays (Isle of Wight, UK) won the Overall Prestige Award & Maritime Award from ICE Southern Branch.  The project required an economic and robust design to extend the usable quay-side facilities in front of Venture Quays from 1500m² to 8500m².  This was achieved by demolition of the existing structures and establishing an area of reclamation formed by using large rocks and a sheet piled wall.  A boat hoist dock and pontoons, plus a suspended deck and a new running surface for the enlarged concrete apron were constructed.

New Zealand Road Safety Innovation and Achievement Award
An innovative road engineering project which has helped to dramatically reduce the severity of crashes State Highway 1 in the South Waikato and Taupo districts has earned the top prize in the road engineering category of the New Zealand Road Safety Innovation and Achievement Awards.  Eight of the twenty two team members named in the award application are either present or past Opus staff members

New Zealand Planning Institute Project Award
Jenny Harrison and Fleur Lincoln and their team won the prestigious New Zealand Planning Institute Project Award, for planning work on the Hihitahi Bluffs reconstruction, which was presented at the New Zealand Planning Institute Conference.

IGENIUM Hynds Paper of the Year
Frank O’Boyle and the Opus Riverton project team won the IGENIUM Hynds Paper of the Year which was presented at the INGENIUM Conference in Invercargill.  The paper presented outlined the innovative work done for the Riverton town centre and main street redevelopment of this Southland town that is built alongside the banks of the Jacobs River.   The project gave Riverton a focal point that reflects the history and uniqueness of this historical town.  The Opus project team comprised Frank O’Boyle, Elwin Brown, Shane Roberts, Sharyn Ogg and Mark Parker.

Young Engineer Award
At the recent IPENZ Conference, Tiffany Lester from Central Labs won the inaugural Young Engineer Essay Competition Award for her submission on “The Value of IPENZ in the Year 2020.”  In the citation the IPENZ judges said “her submission was very perceptive and reflected on how the role of the engineer might change over the next decade and how IPENZ might need to change in response.”

IPENZ Angus Award
Rob Blakemore from the Environmental Training Centre was the recipient of the Angus Award which recognises achievers in the category of utilities and networks. This was in recognition of Rob’s involvement with the setting of the national drinking water standards, with the NZ Water and Waste Association, and in his contribution to the development of national qualifications for the water industry.

Transportation Engineering Award
Sany Zein and Erica Geddes won this British Columbia Ministry of Transport award for a strategic planning study for ten Highway 1 bridges, corridor planning and traffic studies.

2006

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Awards
Opus won the Service Exporter Award and the overall Supreme Exporter Award.

Young Geotechnical Professionals’ Award
Beverley Curley and Steve Temple each won New Zealand Geotechnical Society and Earthquake Commission Young Geotechnical Professionals’ Conference Awards for papers presented to the 7th Young Geotechnical Professionals Conference in Adelaide, Australia in October 2006. Beverley's paper was titled 'Terrace Tunnel Approach Walls Anchor Maintenance' and Steve's was 'Flood Damage Engineering on a Roading Network.'

ACENZ Awards of Excellence 2006
Opus received two ACENZ Merit Awards for work carried out on the historic Waianakarua Bridge in Central Otago, and the state-of-the-art air-conditioning system for the Gen-i/Telecom WETA high-spec special effects digital computer facility in Wellington.

Waianakarua Bridge
Opus were commissioned by Transit NZ to strengthen and widen this 1874 Historic Places Trust category 1 historic bridge on SH1 in Central Otago. This called for considerable consultation with the HPT and sensitive and careful design to retain the historic features of the bridge, while meeting the strengthening, widening, repair and safety requirements of the client. The design features a level reinforced concrete deck resting directly on the inwardly protruding spandrel walls of the bridge and, following careful dismantling of the stone parapets, their recasting in concrete with the original stone used as facings.

Gen-i/Telecom WETA digital computer aircon system
Following the relocation and significant upgrade of this special effects 3D-graphics computer facility for the movie industry, Opus were commissioned to provide a super effective air cooling system that went beyond the bounds of other installations worldwide. As conventional aircon systems could not cope with the heat generated, Opus engineers devised a system of arranging the 12 racks of 48 blade servers in a cold/hot aisle configuration enclosed by walls to create a plenum chamber. Cool air is supplied at the top of the chamber, drawn down through the servers and exhausted into the room which acts as the return air chamber. This allows cooling to the servers but maintains a comfortable environment for technicians working in the chamber.

NZ Historic Places Trust Award
For the careful rejuvenation of the historic Waianakarua Bridge in North Otago.  The project also received a highly commended award from Ingenium.

Ingenium Hynds Best Technical Paper Award
Rowan Kyle and Trent Downing win for the paper entitled ‘The Effect of a Reduced Discount Factor on Pavement Treatment Justification’.

Ingenium Excellence Award 
$200k category for the Special Crash Reduction Study - SH2, Pokeno to Mangatarata.

Best Project Award: Large Projects
The Wellington Inner City Bypass Project has been identified as a premium team delivering Project Excellence.

Best Maritime Project and the Prestige Award from ICE Southern Branch
The Royal Yacht Squadron's new yacht haven at Cowes (UK) won 2 awards from the ICE Southern Branch

The Green Apple Award for the Built Environment and Heritage
Maltings at Alton

SB Challenge Award
Our Tauranga office won the Innovation Category in the recent Bay of Plenty Sustainable Business Challenge Awards. The challenge attracted more than 60 local businesses and is awarded in recognition of a business meeting social and environmental needs as a component of being a successful business. Our Tauranga office was recognised for the development of a transport efficiency model that can be used to design urban areas for maximum energy efficiency.

Civic Trust Awards UK
The Lyric Square development in Fulham, for which we were the Structural Engineers, won the Hard Landscaping section of the awards. The area which was once regarded as unpleasant and dangerous has now been turned into a much needed vibrant space, with the judges commenting on the quality of the design and workmanship.

IPWEA Best Paper Award
Wayne Hatcher and Graeme Dunnet jointly won the IPWEA (Institute of Public Works Engineers of Australia) Best Paper Award for their presentation at the recent Western Australian State Conference. The subject of the paper was 'Considering Whole of Life Costs, How Can Pavement Performance Modelling Help.' Wayne Stewart was also applauded for his keynote address on 'Society and Transport - Implications of Achieving Sustainable Solutions' at the same Conference and gave a well received presentation at a workshop the following day.

2005

IPENZ Transportation Conference
Tim Brown and Ian Clark (with Peter Evans and Leon Wee of Transit New Zealand)-New Zealand Automobile Association Award for Best Transportation Paper "New Zealand's Easy Merge Ramp Signal (Ramp Metering) Trial"

INGENIUM
Wayne Stewart-Hynds Paper of the Year for his paper "The Growing Transportation Challenge"

IPWEA
Wayne Stewart- EJ Hooper Gold Award for best paper "The Growing Transportation Challenge"

Royal Institute of British Architects
Veryards Opus - Civil, geotechnical and structural design work for the Creative Enterprise Centre, Caernarfon, Wales

Cavalier Bremworth
Jo Aitken, Auckland - Student Award- for her final design project at Auckland University

NZ Concrete Society
Sue Freitag- Sandy Cormack Award for best paper "Durability of Concrete in Wastewater Reticulation and Treatment Facilities" at the New Zealand Concrete Industry Conference.

NZ Planning Institute
Paul Ryan-Nancy Northcroft Award acknowledging work involved in researching and publishing the Land Transport New Zealand Cycle Network and Route Planning Guide.

Arthur C Kennett Memorial Award
Sheldon Bruce and Sue Freitag won this for their paper "Concrete durability in wastewater reticulation and treatment facilities and its sensitivity to small changes in exposure conditions." It is awarded by the Australasian Corrosion Association for the best paper presented on the subject of non-metallic corrosion.

NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering
P Brabhaharan - Best Practice Paper Award on performance based quake resistant mitigation of two retaining walls on Wellington's Ngaio Gorge.

Print and Allied Industries NZ
Richard Silcock - Pride in Print Award - Opus Calendar 2004, for organisation, design, print management and printing

IPENZ Fellows
Rob Blakemore, Richard Croad, Roger Feasey, Melvyn Maylin and Wayne Stewart

British Columbia Ministry of Transport
Travis Gilbertson - awarded a plaque in recognition of his contribution to the Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project

ACENZ Silver Award
Opus was awarded a Silver Award for its innovative work at the Aratiatia Hydro-Power Station. The work, using modern seismic analysis technology, detailed investigation and testing, resulted in a strengthening scheme using design techniques that advanced the use of reinforced concrete structures.
The work was completed well under budget and with minimal disruption to the normal operation of the power station. It was cited by the judges as being an excellent example of 'thinking outside the square.'

ACENZ Awards of Merit
Opus was awarded two Awards of Merit. One for an Archaeological Site Register for Transit New Zealand and the NZ Historic Places Trust. This register provides a historic and cultural heritage risk model for consultation during the planning stages for roading construction projects.
The register provides a robust, computer based model, with the relevant information displayed on topographic and aerial maps, saving both time and money for developers. 
Opus was also rewarded for its work following the significant flooding in the Wanganui area following the severe storms in February 2004. This work involved the location and assessment of infrastructure damage and the implementation of a recovery plan for the local council. Using aerial surveillance, Opus was able to do this in quick time, provide reports and recommendations and assist the council to effect rapid repairs across a wide area of the region.

2004

IES Award
The Lighting Society Award of Excellence for the Britomart Railway Station Interior
The Lighting Society Award of Commendation for the Britomart Streetscapes

Defence Industry Award
Opus International Consultants Ltd/McMillan and Lockwood Ltd for the design and construction of LAV III Hangars and Training Facilities at Waiouru and Linton Camps. "This project was notable because both companies, although on separate contracts, collaborated with the Army, to produce a superior product. Key to the success of the project was teamwork and how each company offered suggestions to reduce costs and improve utility of the buildings, while keeping the project within time and budget."

Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Award
Structural Heritage Commendation for the seismic strengthening/refurbishment of historic Chief Post Office, Auckland, New Zealand. "A very complex brief, a change in use of an historic building, incorporation of an underground entrance to the new Britomart Transportation Centre and compliance with the New Zealand code for seismic resistance."

ACENZ Gold Award
Opus won a Gold Award for the innovative structural, mechanical & engineering and seismic work associated with the Britomart Transport Centre in Auckland. This included the new underground rail station, the refit of the former CPO building as an interchange centre, the underground walkways and the upgrading of Queen Elizabeth Square.

ACENZ Community Award
The recently upgraded Cambridge town centre and streetscape project was awarded the Community Award for its environmentally friendly solutions that met the clients and the communities requirements of providing a distinctive and memorable destination in its own right.

MOE - Green Ribbon Award
Hawke's Bay Expressway - The HB airport to Taradale road section of the expressway for design and completion across the historically sensitive wetlands of the Ahuriri estuary. Impacts on the environment were minimised through the use of various systems.

Austroads Award 2004
Opus was awarded this significant Australasian award for the design work involved with the Candys Bend to Starvation Point section of SH73 through the Arthur's Pass National Park in New Zealand's rugged Southern Alps. This included the design of a number of cantilevered bridges and propped half bridges, along with a number of structures to divert rock and water falls from the highway in an environmentally sensitive region

NZIA Resene New Zealand Award
Information Services Building, University of Otago, Dunedin

Institution of Structural Engineers (London) Guthrie Brown Award
Sulo Shanmuganathan (AK) for the paper on FRP Composite Materials for Civil and Building Structures.

Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) - Silver AwardOpus was the recipient of the Silver Award of Merit at the prestigious Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) for The Wellington Inner City Bypass (WICB). This brings to eight the number of awards won by the Opus WICB team led by Keith Atkinson, along with the other partners to the project - the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Wellington City Council and the contractor, Fulton Hogan.Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) - Merit AwardOpus projects winning ACENZ Merit Awards in 2008 were:- The Mt Grand Reservoir, Dunedin (led by Ian Walsh) for the innovative design of this raw water reservoir using polyethylene liner and a leak detection system.- The Awaroa Overpass at Huntly (led by George Rogan) for the design of a prefabricated steel multi-plate shell covered by a low gradient soil embankment.- The Hihitahi Bluffs realignment near Taihape (Bob Smith and his team) which has eliminated dangerous sections of SH1 which was prone to ice and poor sight lines.