Selo Land Development
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Project Size: 11 acres
Road Network: 5 miles
Service AI was integral to optimizing the design and construction of a large and complex residential community in the inner city suburb of Eden Terrace.
Aedifice, a leading property development firm, sought to develop the Selo project, a 11-acre residential community in Eden Terrace, Auckland, New Zealand.
The project encompassed 243 buildings across 210 lots, with an extensive utility infrastructure involving over 5 miles of sanitary sewer, wastewater, and water supply pipes.
To address the complexity of this large-scale development, Aedifice partnered with local engineers Civix who leveraged the innovative Allsite.ai platform, specifically Service AI, to optimize the design and construction process.
The Challenge
The Selo project faced several challenges due to its size and scope, including the need to design a highly efficient underground pipe network. The requirements were substantial:
555 (2.7 miles) storm drain pipes
385 (1.7 miles) sanitary sewer pipes
536 (2.6 miles) water supply pipes
The intricate design had to meet stringent engineering rules, including proper pipe cover, minimum clearance between pipes, and minimum grades.
Additionally, the design needed to be cost-effective, balancing both capital (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) expenses while minimizing risks of structural conflicts like pipes too close to retaining walls.
Flood resilience was also a critical concern, as the area was prone to flooding.
Technology in Action
To overcome these challenges, Civix utilized Allsite.ai's Service AI, an intelligent tool designed to automate and optimize engineering designs. Service AI provided a comprehensive solution for the pipe network by:
Setting all pipe invert levels to ensure compliance with engineering rules.
Automatically designing the pipe network to minimize CAPEX and OPEX costs.
Implementing built-in QA checking to detect potential design conflicts, such as pipes near retaining walls.
Automatically sizing pipes based on specified catchments and performing a full flow analysis to ensure optimal performance.
Generating detailed pipe long sections, capacity tables, and plan views that adhered to Auckland City Council standards, eliminating the need for manual drafting.
Calculating trench volumes and setting excavation methods (shoring or benching), improving communication between developers and construction teams.
In addition, semi-automated flood modelling was conducted using the Tuflow flood engine, ensuring the design was resilient against future flood events.
The Results
The use of Service AI on the Selo project delivered significant time and cost efficiencies. Design iterations that typically would have taken days were completed in less than an hour.
The AI-driven system optimized both construction and operational costs, ensuring precise pipe invert designs with no manual overrides needed.
Built-in QA checks reduced design conflicts, and semi-automated flood modelling enhanced the site's resilience, as proven when the network withstood the 2023 Auckland floods without damage.