18 | NPM Construction: Bream Bay College Richard Loader Putting the shine on school project to page 20 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Awarded the design and build project for two new blocks of learning spaces at Bream Bay College in Ruakaka, Northland based NPM Construction has garnered its considerable experience, resources and internal capability to target a successful completion in the first quarter of next year. NPM Construction is part of the Bowling Infrastructure Group; a diverse group of construction companies that operate independently or combine to offer a complete construction solution. Damian Thompson, NPM’s Quantity Surveyor and Contract Representative, says the company was awarded the contract in the fourth quarter of 2021 after a successful competitive tender process, and quickly mobilised to break ground late December at the end of the school year. “The Ministry of Education’s tender documents included a one hundred percent preliminary design for the buildings, so we knew shape, size and floor plan, and broad location of services. “There were elevations and the plans were somewhat rigid at tender stage. Working with the design team, we were able to put a shine on the project from a constructability point of view and through value engineering, particularly around the use of local materials, speeding up the delivery given some supply chain issues.” The construction project involves two separate blocks, each of around 575sqm, conjoined by a green space and landscaping. A science block encompasses four specialist learning spaces. A single storey square building with two mono-pitch roofs, the design includes clerestory windows and a significant three metre veranda around the circumference. The second single story block will be utilised by Year 7 and 8 learners and consists of six learning spaces, split into two separate east and west rectangular buildings, joined by a covered outdoor learning space, also with a three-metre veranda around the circumference of the building. Exposed LVL superstructure, local Māori artworks, and level entry on every door are three of the key design features for both blocks. While the new buildings are on track for an official opening on the 26th of April, Damian says the NPM Construction project team had to navigate significant supply chain issues as the project emerged from the COVID-lockdown environment. “We procured an off-site storage facility, enabling us to procure materials a lot earlier than we would normally be able to due to storage constraints.
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