RMBA sites

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HRS Construction

Project Partners

eCubed (Engineer), Patterson (Architect/Designer), Structure Design (Engineer), Tripro (Project Manager)

The Wakefield family owned an architectural grand residence, Ravenscar House, that was open to the public on occasion to exhibit a large art collection. It was intended that once the house was no longer required for residential use, it would be made available to the public as a cultural facility for the display of the art collection and the use of the library. This cultural facility was to be modeled on the concept of a 'house museum'. Sadly, Ravenscar House was irreparably damaged in the February 2011 earthquake. Following the demolition of the original residence, the Trust sought to relocate the art collection to a new grand residence in Christchurch’s cultural precinct. The new, purpose-built, house museum is therefore in some ways a paradox as it incorporates key designs from the original Ravenscar House into the new build, such as four main chambers designed in the same dimensions as the original principal rooms. These rooms are set around a central courtyard with views to the garden which in turn is a reinterpretation of planting from the original home. It is built from pre-cast concrete made from crushed bricks from the original home, as well as rubble from other cherished buildings in the city – material otherwise destined for landfill.

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Brosnan Construction

Project Partners

AB Consultancy (Consultant), Brosnan (Construction Company), Ground Up Studio (Architect/Designer), Meyer Cruden Engineering (Engineer)

Owned By

The Lindis Group

Mt Isthmus luxury lodge is a highly complex and detailed project at Glen Dene station, overlooking Lake Hawea. The building was inspired by unique architectural designs from around the world, which the owner wanted to see reflected through this property. The lodge comprises four suites, covering a total floor area of approximately 660m2, built to deliver an exclusive, luxury lodge accommodation experience. The finished building achieved the client's objective of establishing Mt Isthmus Lodge as one of the highest caliber accommodation options in New Zealand. A high degree of planning was required for this project. Collaboration between multiple expert trades people, craftsman and the design team turned the original concept into reality. With a bespoke and intricate design, expectations were exceeded regarding quality finishes, befitting of a luxury lodge. In many cases, the design pushed boundaries compared to standard detail methodologies and interaction between structural elements.

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Trigg Construction

Project Partners

Harris Butt Architecture Ltd (Architect/Designer), Scope - Total Project Partners (Client Project Manager), Trigg Construction (Construction Company)

Owned By

Whangarei Arts Museum Trust

This art centre is quite literally a piece of art itself. It has been built to represent Hundertwasser's philosophical standpoint, which is to be in harmony with nature. The building is an artwork dedicated to his teachings and is based on sketches prepared by Hundertwasser himself in 1993. It will be home to about $16 million worth of Hundertwasser's works - the only permanent collection outside of Vienna - as well as the Wairau gallery, the world's first gallery dedicated solely to contemporary Maori art. The building was tightly managed by The Hundertwasser Foundation to ensure it followed his precise guidelines. This is arguably New Zealand’s biggest community driven project with an estimated 50,000+ hours put in by volunteers – some volunteering fulltime. It was picked up by the Prosper Northland Trust which ran the fundraising and building consent process over 3 years. As the project moved forward, the team needed to stay nimble in their approach and overcome hurdles with greater levels of innovation. All challenges were worked through with the design and construction team together with the client, in a collaborative way.

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Bufton Construction Limited

Project Partners

Bard Investments Ltd (Client), Bufton Construction Ltd (Construction Company), Woodhams Meikle Zhan Architects (Architect/Designer)

Quest Takapuna consists of 52 apartments, six additional penthouse apartments, a basement carpark, hotel lobby, and three commercial office spaces. A collaborative approach was taken early on as Bufton Construction took over management of the design team from the Resource Consent Stage. This enabled them to take into consideration construction constraints which assisted in keeping design to budget. Also, critically this allowed early subcontractor involvement - such as Curtain Walling, Concrete Structure, Steelwork and Precast which helped to ensure the best value for money. The site being extremely tight presented some challenges– with only 200mm off all four boundaries and with a main road and residential housing nearby. Design and build also needed to take this into consideration with prefabricated façade curtain walling and precast panels.

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Form Building & Developments Limited

Project Partners

Babbage Consultants Ltd (Architect/Designer), Form Building & Developments (Construction Company), Greenstone Group (Engineer)

This project involved a four-storey, 40 room extension to the Novotel Hotel in Hamilton Central. The key requirement of the extension was to seamlessly integrate with the existing structure. Working with a live hotel environment made this project a challenge to deliver. The health and safety restraints alone added to the complexity. All construction above the foundation was precast concrete. The precast beams had to be precise to ensure alignment and continuity across the build. The beams were over 10 metres long and over 18 tons in weight providing another challenge. These also had to be placed at night as closing the street was not an option.

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Amalgamated Builders Limited

Project Partners

Amalgamated Builders Limited (Construction Company), WSP (Engineer), WSP Architecture (Architect/Designer)

Owned By

Rakiura Heritage Trust

Rakiura Museum Te Puka O Te Waka speaks to a vessel that holds within it the taonga (treasures of Rakiura/Stewart Island). This rich design narrative is supported by its strong connection with the ocean, maritime history, local iwi, community and environment. It was a fruitful collaboration that resulted in a building that captures the bicultural history and aspirations of the Stewart Island community. The constrained, wedge-shaped site proved to be a positive influence on the final design which reflects the many wedge-shaped ships that have visited the island with the building’s floating ‘prow’ facing the harbour. The light-filled space attracts and informs visitors and leads them through to the museum’s immersive exhibition. In the other direction, visitors are led to community and staff spaces where bright, natural light is modified by vertical fins - a nod to the ribs of a whale, and the island’s history of whaling. Thorough planning, logistical management involving shipping plant, equipment and 300 tonnes of materials from Bluff across Foveaux Straight combined with an unwavering commitment from the onsite and offsite teams ensured the works were completed to a high level of quality and ahead of programme. It is the first civic infrastructure construction on the Island in 18 years.

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Material Creative

Project Partners

Angus Muir (Art Collaborator), Designer Rugs (Art Collaborator), FMA Architects (Architect/Designer), Material Creative (Architect/Designer), THE ART DEPT (Art Collaborator), W. GARTSHORE LIMITED (Construction Company)

Owned By

Naumi Hotels Group

Set on Wellington's Cuba Street, in an early 1900's Edwardian building named The People's Palace, this new hotel honours its heritage features while injecting a new sense of life. The brief was to create a bold hotel that is whimsical, colourful and intriguing. No white was to be used in commons areas. The hotel has been curated around the idea of Lady Naumi, a literary bohemian character. Lady Naumi captures the zeitgeist spirit, thought and feeling of the Edwardian era, bohemian culture of Cuba Street, and the lifestyle of the area’s surrounding music, art, literary and spiritual pursuits. This project was broken into two stages. The first was the development of the 4-star 116 room hotel. The second stage was the refurbishment of the 2002 tower block into 5-star guest rooms. The common spaces were created to service both hotel wings.

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Apollo Projects

Project Partners

Apollo Projects (Construction Company), Holmes Consulting (Engineer), Warren & Mahoney (Architect/Designer)

Owned By

Selwyn District Council

Selwyn District Council had a challenge. They wanted to create an indoor sports centre that maximised both functionality and innovation to deliver an outstanding facility to one of New Zealand’s fastest growing districts. Apollo was ultimately selected as the right partner to deliver this project, following an innovative procurement model that featured a Design and Build Competition. Appointed in 2019 with a completion target of the 2021 winter sports season, completing the project meant overcoming significant challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply chain issues. Design was completed in two stages, separating the main courts from the changing rooms and offices. This allowed the construction of the main frame and 6,000m2 of playing area, while concurrently designing the administrative and changing spaces. Strong collaboration with the client and local authorities meant that challenges were well anticipated and mitigated. The facility opened by the target date and features eight indoor courts, a 240-metre mezzanine running track, multi-purpose rooms, and Aotearoa’s first Lu Uno interactive playground wall that turns the facility into an immersive video game through lights, sounds, and videos.