10 | McMillan & Lockwood Central Region: Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery T T Karen Phelps New era for historic Whanganui gallery McMillan & Lockwood began work in December 2019 after first being awarded the contract for the extension building. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT After five years of painstaking work, construction firm McMillan & Lockwood has successfully completed the restoration and extension of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui, bringing new life to one of New Zealand’s oldest purpose-built galleries. The project, completed in late 2024, involved complex structural work on the heritage-listed building, alongside the construction of a modern extension that has doubled the gallery’s exhibition capacity and also provided state-of-the-art storage for its nationally significant collection of over 8000 artworks. McMillan & Lockwood project director Rob Pedersen says the construction team faced numerous challenges working with the 105-year-old Category 1 heritage building. The original gallery, with its distinctive 14-metre-high dome and Oamaru stone exterior, required extensive earthquake strengthening while preserving its historical integrity. “The existing floor of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery had to be removed in its entirety, and it had to be catalogued with photos and drawings marked up where each piece went back,” explains Rob. “On completion of the structural strengthening work, the existing flooring was reinstated as part of the heritage requirements of the project.” McMillan & Lockwood began work in December 2019 after first being awarded the contract for the extension building, before negotiating the second stage covering the gallery and link building while construction was already underway. Work on the extension building employed traditional construction methods, using primarily in-situ concrete apart from some precast flooring planks and stair units. “It was going back to old methods of construction. It was the choice of the designers because of the high-importance level the building was designed to. It had to be very resilient,” says Rob. The project required excavating 4.5 metres below the existing level, necessitating a reinforced concrete batter with ground anchors to protect the original gallery building. Working with historical drawings created additional challenges when the actual conditions differed from expectations, and the construction team discovered that the original builders had followed the contours of the sand dune on which the gallery was built, rather than digging foundations to the depths shown on drawings. “We found the foundation depths were a lot higher than anticipated, so had to do a lot of underpinning of existing foundations to get down to the required foundation depth to form the mechanical plant room in the existing basement of the gallery. Because it was an art gallery it had a high level of HVAC requirement in terms of temperature and humidity control.” The Covid-19 pandemic added further complications, as did the liquidation of two subcontractors during the project period. When the mechanical subcontractor responsible for the HVAC systems faced financial difficulties, McMillan & Lockwood employed their staff directly to minimise delays. Rob says it is the company’s policy to use local subcontractors where possible. Call or email us ... we can help you complete your tiling project today! 06 345 0300 admin@mtsutherlandtilingltd.com Proudly supporting McMillan & Lockwood Phone: 06 348 0033 Email: admin@strongelectrical.co.nz Electrical Services, Fire Security & BWOF and Heat Pumps & Ventilation
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=