Structures of strength and significance: Fraemohs Homes
Close your eyes and imagine the first place in the world to greet the sunrise of the new day. It has unrivalled South Pacific stargazing, basalt columns, walking, kayaking, and scenic reserves plus stunning seafood delights.
It is home to fewer than 1000 people, only accessible by air or sea, and hosts its own endemic plant and bird species. Where are you? You are in the magical Chatham Islands. Irrefutably Kiwi, yet with histories and mysteries only found there, these ruggedly beautiful islands are seeing visitor numbers rise. Tourists usually arrive by air to Tuuta Airport on Chatham, the largest island of the archipelago.
With flights arriving from Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch and 150 visitor beds available, the airport’s Board identified the need to enlarge capacity. The runway had been extended as the first phase of upgrading the airport, next needed was a cool and welcoming terminal extension to represent the island. However, freight transport logistics for the islands are not easy.
With Fraemohs Homes already a strong domestic presence on the two main islands, the Airport Board asked the expert team if they could help with supplying a commercial building. The answer was a resounding “yes”, with experience in light commercial building for a while now. “Recently we created a fabulous preschool building,” says Project Manager Stu Gee, “and the wonderful classroom and promotional space at Orana Park is one of ours also.”
One of the key attributes of Fraemohs buildings which attracted the Chatham Islands’ Airport Board is the ability to make a building in the factory, flatpack it for freighting, and assemble the building in as remote a location as you can think of. “All of the main materials went through the Port at Timaru: roofing, doors, windows – everything needed to create the lock up building,” says Stu.
The new terminal addition will be assembled at the airport by a local Chatham Islands building team. “Our buildings are so suitable for construction by local builders that we are only sending over one Fraemohs trained builder from Christchurch to answer any questions on the spot,” Stu explains. The islands enjoy an oceanic climate. This is code for ‘it rains frequently and it can be stormy too.’ “The location has its unique weather challenges and the Airport Board knew that our technology would stand up well to local weather conditions,” says Stu. “We did our Thermal Modelling for the site as we do for every project. We got the building ready for consenting through Wellington City Council, and 3D modelled it for production in our factory.”
The Thermal Modelling system is a Fraemohs-own process that looks at both heating and cooling bespoke to of all their buildings. The system takes into account the specific site, the position of the building on that site, and its aspect. Local climate is central to calculations, and each building gets specific thermal design that ensures it avoids overheating and efficiently retains warmth.
“Our solid timber system contains significant thermal mass in itself, and if a build uses exposed concrete our team will evaluate that for thermal mass,” says Stu. “The model shows where additional insulation would be an advantage, it might specify double rather than triple glazing, or low E glass on one side of the house, for example. It is about the right products in the right places, getting things on certain sides of the house, or using a different insulating product.” Gale force winds can blow for days at a time on the Chatham Islands, and again Fraemohs construction materials and techniques rise to the challenge. “Just as trees move with the wind, our homes move naturally through their interlocking timber system. The combination of strength and flexibility are at the core of why our buildings perform well in windy zones, and in earthquakes too,” says Stu.
The Chatham Islands are a treasure chest of wild beauty, and environmentally friendly credentials made Fraemohs the ideal choice. Timber is a natural product with an attractive aesthetic that blends well with country settings. As a renewable resource, timber can be regrown, providing a sustainability bonus that you don’t get with non-renewable options like steel and concrete. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, and continue to store carbon when cut and used in construction.
LONGSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
Fraemohs has been genuine about sustainability long before it was a ‘thing’.
It’s been one of their central tenets for 50 years, building thousands of carbon negative timber homes all across New Zealand and the world.
We can thank Monni Fraemohs who first brought with him from Denmark to Christchurch a passion for Scandinavian solid timber home construction. In 1968, Fraemohs Homes were the most environmentally responsible option available. That’s a credit to the business that has never changed.
Builds that are better
Commercial or residential, the Fraemohs experts can cater to your needs, crafting astounding buildings that exceed all expectations – regardless of where or when.
On the airport project, the team collaborated with Beca, acknowledged airport experts, who, alongside Chatham Islands Airport Ltd and Downer New Zealand, have already won the 2023 small airport category at the NZ Airport Association Conference for Infrastructure Project of the Year, regarding the runway extension. That project was delivered three months ahead of schedule in March 2023, despite the pandemic and some characteristically extreme weather conditions experienced on the islands.
This next phase of the airport upgrade sees the old terminal retained and refurbished for arrivals and departures. The new Fraemohs building will link to the existing building and be dedicated to security processing for outgoing passenger departures. It will carefully blend the old with the new, seamlessly intertwining the existing building’s historical and cultural value
for islanders.
Beca consulted with the network of experts needed to create a modern airport facility. “They liaised with fire engineers, the security specialists, and their structural engineers worked closely with our in-house engineer,” says Stu. “With our new build adjoining the existing terminal we had to have detailed joining elements including ramps and access flows which all met the regulatory framework.”
It is apparent that Fraemohs, with its ethos of sustainability, beauty, and strength is the ideal choice for the Chatham Islands airport extension. The islands and the people who live there share values and attributes with these building experts to make them an ideal match. So go on, close your eyes. Imagine yourself on your way to the place that greets the first sunshine of the new day.
