St Bede’s College Chapel And Performing Arts Centre Win Supreme At The NZ Commercial Project Awards

The St Bede’s College Chapel and Performing Arts Centre in Christchurch was awarded the Supreme New Zealand Commercial Project of the Year virtually across the country. The prestigious New Zealand Commercial Project Awards, owned and run by Registered Master Builders, sets the benchmark for commercial construction in New Zealand and recognises the team collaboration that bring these projects to life.

Naylor Love Canterbury and their project partners were tasked with the challenge of constructing a new Chapel of St Bede and strengthening and extending the existing Performing Arts Centre. Judges were impressed with the excellent design solution and superb construction finish.

“This is two distinctly interlocking building projects – burying underground to strengthen the foundations of the Performing Arts building, and a new Chapel for the school. The works were challenged by the need to safely work around the school programme”, comments this year’s judges.

The new chapel replaced a temporary facility, which had been used since the 2011 earthquakes and provided the school with a place of worship.

“The octagonal chapel successfully completes a line of existing brick school buildings that face the street. It stands clear and presents all the complexities expected in the construction, with the details finely resolved. The space is engaging for the students and the octagonal space creates a break from the traditional school chapel.

“The team’s seismic strengthening of the Performing Arts Centre successfully returned it to its original functionality with an extension that included a kitchen, servery, large foyer, and outdoor deck area.”

St Bede’s College Chapel and Performing Arts Centre was not the only winner on the night. DPA Architects and their project team took home the Special Award for the refurbishment of the Highfield Woolshed in North Canterbury.

Dating as far back as 1877, this iconic woolshed received significant damage from the Kaikoura earthquake. This included walls becoming separated from the roof and a section of the shed collapsing.

The judges complimented the project teams technical execution. “The woolshed had been knocked off its foundations and displaced more than 600mm. Its structure was therefore jacked, stabilised, and successfully lowered and levelled onto its new foundation. While the value of the work was modest, the technical challenges than needed to be overcome were huge, especially as a lot of the operation was undertaken within a confined space.

“Its restoration has become a beacon for the local region’s recovery since the earthquake and is now ready to continue as an operational shearing shed for another 100 years.”

Registered Master Builders Chief Executive David Kelly says the Commercial Project Awards showcase and celebrate the very best in commercial construction and the high calibre of entries reflect the scale and diversity of commercial construction being done across New Zealand.

“These awards celebrate and recognise the contribution of the whole project team rather than just the building itself. This includes everyone from the building owners, architects, designers, engineers, quantity surveyors through to the contractors themselves.

“What makes these two projects so special is the high level of teamwork from the project team. Celebrating collaboration and innovation across the sector is a key part of these awards. We recognise that the best projects are those where the full project team work together. This is also the key to resolving the challenges that face the sector today.

“Both of these projects exemplify how we can build back better, while successfully maintaining the historic features of a build,” says Kelly.

The New Zealand Commercial Project Awards are made possible thanks to the support of Altus Windows System, CARTERS, Construction Marketing Services, GIB, PlaceMakers and Resene.

For more information on the competition and to view the full results and projects, visit www.commercialprojectawards.co.nz.

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