| 109 College project complete The Bream College project was completed in June after a 15-month construction period and involved the construction of two separate blocks linked by a green space and landscaping. NPM Construction BUILDING T T Rosa Watson Creating a supportive and collaborative working environment is a top priority for Whangarei-based NPM Construction – something that has been recognised by the industry in this year’s NZIOB Building People of the Year Awards. The company is part of the Bowling Infrastructure Group that is made up of six companies. It generally acts as the main contractor on construction projects, bringing in sister contractors as subbies, quantity surveyor Damian Thompson said. There are over 50 staff employed by NPM Construction, including the 10 management staff, and Damian said they aimed to foster a caring environment at the company. “We are a local and family-focused company” There are currently 11 apprentices, that typically started as labourers and once they had proven themselves to be keen and motivated were subsequently given the opportunity, he said. This year the company completed the largescale Bream Bay College Design and Build project. After a 15-month construction period, the building was handed over in June, much to the excitement of staff and students. The project involved two separate blocks, each of around 575sqm, conjoined by a green space and landscaping. The science block, which includes four specialist learning spaces, is 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-storey block will house Year 7 and 8 learners with six learning space, split into two separate east and west rectangular buildings and joined by a covered outdoor learning space. It also includes a three-metre veranda. Exposed LVL superstructure, local Māori artworks, and level entry on every door are three of the key design features for both blocks. Over 100m3 of laminated timber and more than 2000m2 of plywood were used in the construction. Although the project was a major development for Whangarei, Damian said, It had also been a long journey for the school to get the project to completion. “They were ecstatic.” One of the big challenges in completing the project was meeting the ever-changing requirements for learning spaces, such as the acoustics, he said. “To balance the reverberation time we had to reduce acoustic materials in some areas and introduce different performing materials to other areas.” There were also cost escalations and supply chain constraints during construction, which had been tough on the industry as a whole. Fortunately, they had managed to procure millions of dollars worth of materials upfront to de-risk the project as much as possible. “That strategy worked well in some circumstances, not all. “It certainly wasn’t a straightforward fitout. The scale of it is quite impressive.” Damian said it was the largest project the firm had carried out as main contractor and the largest contract it had completed for the Ministry of Education. “It took a real team effort across NPM Construction, the Bowling Infrastructure Group, our design team, our suppliers, subcontractors and the MOE project team. We’ve picked up a heap of learnings along the way. We have all grown from the experience.” For his role on the project, Damian was named as a finalist at this year’s NZIOB Building People of the Year Awards in the under $10 million category, along with nine others. He said it was an honour to be put forward for the awards. “For someone to actually put you forward and say mate, you’ve done a good job here, is a real honour.” He encouraged others to nominate people for the awards. “It’s good for the industry and good for the individual as well. It’s pretty cool for the industry to stop and recognise the people behind the projects.” 22 Finlayson St, Whangarei 0110 | (09) 459 7108 | info@attina.co.nz | www.attina.co.nz • ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS • COMMERCIAL + DOMESTIC • EMERGENCY LIGHTING • THERMAL IMAGING • TESTING + TAGGING PROUD TO BE WORK ING WI TH NPM CONSTRUCT ION • Commercial • Residential • Industrial • Maintenance • Sheet Metal Fabrication GAS WORKS & PLUMBING LIMITED SUPPLY, INSTALL & SERVICE SPECIALISING IN ALL WATER HEATING & HOME HEATING SOLUTIONS www.gasworksandplumbing.co.nz WHANGAREI Corner of Poto St & Porowini Ave BAY of ISLANDS OFFICE 1229 Bulls Road, KERIKERI 0800 400 192 Certified in major brands to deliver a world class data network 09 430 8400 | M: 021 024 15220 5/33 Commerce Street, Whangarei | Email: cabling@vitel.co.nz Your DATA cabling partner | www.vitel.co.nz FIBRE OPTIC, COMPUTER, PHONE CABLING & AUDIO VISUAL SPECIALISTS Sound AUDIO VISUAL SOLUTIONS fibre optic, computer & phone cabling specialists Make a success of every project with us 09 430 3074 www.nexteditionkitchens.com 8:30am – 4:00pm Mon – Fri Proudly supporting NPMConstruction. 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