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Under the Resource Management Act 1991 In the matter of Notices of Requirement to enable the construction, operation and maintenance of the City Rail Link

Between

Auckland Transport

Requiring Authority

and

Auckland Council

Consent Authority

Statement of Evidence of Simon John Ferneyhough

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QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

1. My full name is Simon John Ferneyhough.

2. I am the Sales Director for Nextspace and am the Project Manager for the

Nextspace City Rail Link (CRL) Lower Albert Street Construction Sequence

Visualisation project.

3. I have specialised in 3D computer modelling, rendering, simulation and animation

for 29 years. I have additional experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

for city-scale infrastructure management. I have a Bachelor of Architecture from

Auckland University, and have practiced as a Registered Architect (now retired). I

have held significant roles in many computer simulation and visualisation projects

including:

Sunlight Admission Studies for the Auckland District Plan;

Auckland Sky Tower visual impact and shadow studies;

Brightside Hospital visual impact studies;

Waikato Hospital visual impact studies;

Wellington ‘Past, Present, & Future’ city model for the National Library of New

Zealand;

Auckland’s Northwest Transformation proposal visualisation for Watercare; and

City Rail Link route visualisation for Auckland Transport.

4. I am familiar with the area that the CRL project covers.

COMPANY EXPERIENCE

5. Nextspace was formed in 2007 with support from the New Zealand government

and 3D technology leader Right Hemisphere (recently acquired by SAP AG). Its

aim was to increase the use of the 3D visualisation industry stimulating productivity

and economic opportunities for New Zealand.

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6. In 2011 Nextspace was commissioned by Auckland Council to create the Digital

Auckland 3D city model. This model has been used to visualise plans for the future

of the urban environment. The model merges data from many sources and is

updated by Nextspace from time to time.

7. Nextspace has previously produced computer models and presentation videos

showing the proposed CRL rail route within the Digital Auckland 3D city model for

general information purposes only.

8. Nextspace employs 15 staff in Auckland, many are 3D simulation specialists. For

this project Nextspace’s technical lead is Rachel Ryan. Rachel holds a Master of

Building Science from Victoria University, Wellington. She has more than 10 years

experience in visual simulation for urban design.

SCOPE OF WORK

9. My evidence is given in support of the Notices of Requirement (NoR) for the

construction, maintenance and operation of the City Rail Link (CRL) lodged with the

Auckland Council by Auckland Transport.

10. The project is a 3.4km underground passenger railway (including two tracks and

three underground stations) running between Britomart station and the North

Auckland Line (NAL) in the vicinity of the existing Mount Eden Station, and an

additional 1.4 of modifications to the NAL and local road network.

11. Auckland Transport has commissioned Nextspace to develop a 3D model

visualisation focusing on the portion of the underground railway at Albert Street,

between Customs Street West and Swanson Street. The Lower Albert Street

Construction Sequence Visualisation (the Visualisation) illustrates the scale and

sequence of the construction process.

12. I have produced a DVD video of 3 minutes 9 seconds to be submitted as evidence

(Appendix 1). The DVD video includes views of all major stages of construction.

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CODE OF CONDUCT

13. I have read the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses as contained in the

Environment Court Practice Note (2011), and I agree to comply with it as if this

hearing were before the Environment Court. My qualifications as an expert are set

out above. I confirm that the issues addressed in this brief of evidence are within

my area of expertise. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that

might alter or detract from the opinions expressed.

COMPUTER MODEL FOR VISUALISATIONS

BUILDING THE MODEL

14. I have generated a three dimensional computer model of the proposed CRL

construction works on the portion of the underground railway at Albert Street,

between Customs Street West and Swanson Street. The model is based on

engineering designs supplied by Auckland Transport, Aurecon Engineers, Beca

Engineering Consultancy, and Flow Transportation Specialists.

15. To build the model I have added the proposed CRL construction details to a three

dimensional computer model of Auckland City. The base model is the Digital

Auckland city model, previously commissioned by Auckland Council, built using

data supplied by Auckland Council. Data used in the model includes:

Contours - Urban (2006/10)

Orthophotography Urban (2010/2011)

Kerblines

LIDAR – Digital Terrain Model points

Building Footprints (Auckland Council Geographic Information System)

Indicative Building Shapes (Auckland Council and Nextspace)

Detailed Building Shapes (sourced from various Architects)

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All data has been loaded and transformed into a single to-scale model.

16. I have enhanced the model along Albert Street, between Customs Street West and

Swanson Street in order to provide context to the CRL project work in this area.

17. Some buildings have had photographic textures and other details added to indicate

the location of landmarks. I have taken photographs of the project location on the

24th and 28th June, 2013. Suitable photographs have been converted to textures

and added to building forms.

18. Some textured buildings have been sourced from Google Earth. These items have

been checked for scale before inclusion in the model.

19. Some construction vehicles have been sourced from the Trimble 3D Warehouse.

These items have been checked for scale and accuracy before being included in

the model. Construction vehicles are included to indicate scale, function and

sequence only; they do not represent actual numbers of on-site vehicles at any

specific time. All construction vehicles have been reviewed by Auckland Transport

and modified to approximately match proposed vehicles for the project.

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20. The image below shows the Aurecon long-section sketch overlaid on the Digital

Auckland model along the rail alignment, as supplied by Auckland Transport. I have

validated the long-section by development of a to-scale computer model based on

measurements indicated in the Aurecon documentation (existing ground and

proposed excavation spot levels).

21. At this stage in the CRL project some elements of the construction sequencing and

engineering design are not fully defined. Therefore some elements of the model

and visualisation videos should be considered indicative only.

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THE VISUALISATION

22. The Visualisation illustrates the construction process including:

Impact of pre-construction enabling works

Scale of construction

Details of elements of construction

Construction sequencing

Impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic

23. This Visualisation has been the subject of four Auckland Transport reviews. At each

review representatives from relevant design expert areas (town planning, structural

engineering, traffic engineering) have been present. The interactive model of the

proposed construction has been prepared in consultation with these experts.

24. The Visualisation has been built to a level of detail and accuracy as required to

illustrate the construction process. Building forms are to scale, but approximate

shapes only. The CRL construction works have all been modelled to scale based

on initial engineering designs. Material finishes are indicative, based on

engineering designs.

25. The Visualisation illustrates the scale and sequence of the construction process

and is not intended to be used for photo-realistic visual impact studies at this time.

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DVD VIDEO

26. In order to make the Visualisation available for evidence I have recorded the

construction sequence steps to DVD. The following images indicate some key

steps that have been recorded:

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FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

27. The interactive three dimensional computer model will be available for on-going

enhancements and revisions as more detailed information becomes available.

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METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS

VALIDATION OF METHODOLOGY

28. The methodology used to build the Visualisation is based on established model

building and visualisation techniques. I have reviewed the Visualisation and DVD

video with key stakeholders and contributors in order to validate the methodology.

SITE VISIT

29. Nextspace has visited the Albert Street site and photographed the street and

surrounding buildings in the project area.

30. The three dimensional city model of the project location has been compared to the

photographs. I have used the photographs to enhance the visual accuracy of the

model, as indicated in sample comparisons below (buildings in grey have

subsequently been updated with photographic detail in the submitted video).

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CONCLUSION

31. The CRL Lower Albert Street Construction Sequence Visualisation illustrates the

scale and sequence of the construction process for the underground railway based

on information supplied by Auckland Transport and their advisors to the best of my

ability within the time available.

Simon Ferneyhough

2 July 2013

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APPENDIX 1