68 | Award recognises ‘25 years of experience’ Apart from a major seismic upgrade, a full internal upgrade of the theatrical services was included. T T from page 66 Shand Shelton ARCHITECTURE T T Sir Howard Morrison Centre upgrade a winner - page 70 After the Christchurch earthquake, engineers started looking at the ground under buildings, and the building codes changed. Modern slab-to-wall junctions throughout the country had the potential to fail in an earthquake, and that demanded change which impacted on many older and heritage buildings — including St James Theatre. Located in Courtney Place, St James Theatre takes pride of place in the heart of Wellington’s theatre district, and as such contributes to the energy, vibrancy and magic of the street, especially the heat of opening night of a grand production, something that was conspicuous by its absence when the Theatre spent three years closed while under restoration. “The façade is significant and hasn’t changed dramatically since it was originally built in 1912,” says Roger. “The building was designed by Henry White, an architect and engineer who did more theatre buildings in Australasia than any contemporary. His engineering was ahead of its time, and the St James has a cantilevered dress circle, minimising columns that obscure views. Arguably it was the first cantilevered dress circle in the world. The theatre was innovative, ornate and built for vaudeville. In our first iteration in the ‘90s we enlarged the stage and widened the proscenium arch to make it one the best lyric theatres in the country.” Shand Shelton’s formal role in the second upgrade was architect and specialist theatre designer, with the brief to lift the building’s seismic strength to 66% + of NBS at Importance Level 3. “It’s challenging to make those interventions invisible within the heritage fabric. • Stage and Studio Track • Stage and Studio Drapes • Seamless Cycloramas • Specialised Film and TV Textiles • Digital VFX Screens • Custom Set Textiles “Where we were putting in structure, we had to conceal it, and where it couldn’t be hidden, we replicated the heritage structure over the new structure. “A full internal upgrade of the theatrical services was also included. We also created plasterwork decorations that were shown on the original drawings but never constructed such as a unique plaster centre piece above the Proscenium. “It was a significant addition to the ornate nature of the auditorium.” Roger says the Heritage award is recognition from Shand Shelton’s peers of the work that has been put into the project, and particularly poignant a quarter of a century after the first project was completed. “It’s also acknowledgement of a job well done that has ensured this beautiful heritage building will perform for the next hundred years. Working on these heritage public buildings is very rewarding. “The St James is a very special building, today it is more finessed beyond what we were able to achieve the first time. Getting the award for this building, in the second iteration recognises 25 years’ experience that has gone into the detail of the building.” Shand Shelton undertakes projects right around the country, working in the realm of public spaces. “Mostly theatres, and a large majority of those are heritage restoration. “But the scale is from small to large, and most take from six to ten years to bring to fruition. We work predominately for Trusts and Councils with very tight budgets”. • Metal Roofing • Wall Cladding • Membrane Systems • Roof Replacement • Kingspan • RoofLogic Commercial • Industrial • Residential www.thcroofing.co.nz 07 579 9400 admin@thcroofing.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=