New Zealand Express Company Building - Dunedin, New Zealand
Posted by: 
BruceS
S 45° 52.683 E 170° 30.151
59G E 461394 N 4919381
Historic office building also known as the Consultancy House and the MFL Mutual Fund Building recognized for its early adoption of now commonly used construction material and methods in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Waymark Code: WMGC4H
Location: South Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 02/12/2013
Views: 6
"Built for the N.Z. Express Co. Ltd. in Dunedin and opened in 1908, this is an early multi-storey building that incorporates precast concrete, structural steel and a reinforced concrete raft foundation.
The Evening Star of 21 September 1908 said “this class of construction has so far not yet been generally adopted in the colonies” and “the full plans and specifications were submitted to two competent engineers for report as it is admitted the whole system is an engineering one.”
This building is one of the very early reinforced concrete multi-storey buildings in New Zealand. It has many features which were very advanced for its time and predated by many years their general adoption elsewhere in New Zealand. These features include:
- the use of reinforced concrete for the structural frame
- precast concrete floor slabs
- proof testing of the design by loading full-sized models of parts of the structure to destruction
- a central heating system using hot water distribution and radiators from a single boiler.
The building also features a reinforced concrete raft foundation, which was probably a first for New Zealand. This type of foundation was used becasue the ground had very recently been reclaimed from the Otago Harbour.
The many innovations in its design and construction undoubtedly are the reason for the building’s long life, as they gave considerable flexibility to the internal spaces which allowed the very diverse needs of the multitude of firms and companies who have occupied it over the last century.
Architect and engineer: A.E. Luttrell
Master builder and engineer: C. Fleming McDonald
The building is also recognized as a Category I building on the New Zealand Heritage Trust Register