120 | Tamaki transformation turning heads... Practec transformed the former Turner’s car auction building in Tamaki into the new national support office and area sales headquarters for Winstone Wallboards. Practec T T Bernadette Cooney BUILDING Interior fit-out specialist Practec, of Northcote Auckland, is a finalist in the New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) Awards this year for its outstanding work transforming a former Turner’s car auction building in Tamaki into the new national support office and area sales headquarters for Winstone Wallboards. Dubbed Project Nexus, the extensive commercial refurbishment is a finalist in the NZIOB Charitable Education Trust Awards category for projects under $10million. The entry highlights Practec’s reputation as a leader in delivering complex, high-performing interior fit-outs across commercial, education, healthcare, and other government sectors. Practec is an award-winning company, having clinched numerous design and property awards over its 25 years of shaping Auckland’s interior-built environments. The company is renowned for its technical expertise and ability to transform challenging briefs into functional, modern spaces, and its entry in the awards recognises the contribution of Practec site manager Ryane Beattie and project manager and company director Fearghus Edwards. “Winstone Wallboards were relocating from their Felix Street Penrose premises after 50plus years, and the Leonard Road building in Tamaki, which had previously been a Turners car auctions and then a vaccination centre, fitted the bill for them – offering double the size they were initially going for,” says Ryane. Winstone Wallboards needed a modern hub to house around 90 staff. The brief was to create a collaborative headquarters incorporating administration, training and development, research and development labs, and a call centre, all under one roof. As main contractor, Practec was required to complete an interior strip-out and rebuild, including the construction of a 100-metre-long, 10-metre-high firewall and the installation of specialised, temperature- and humidity-controlled lab spaces. The office fit-out design leaned into openness and collaboration, featuring kitchenette, glass and aluminium partitions, timber feature walls, and carefully preserved original elements like bathroom partitions and ceiling grids to reduce waste. “We had to balance a live working environment with the full refurbishment.” The scale of the works and staging was significant, but Practec managed to tighten the site impact by handing over within 10 months. “We had to balance a live working environment with the full refurbishment,” says Ryane. “At one point, we had over 50 Winstone staff operating on-site alongside 30 to 40 construction workers. It was a real exercise in planning and communication.” Resourcefulness was key throughout the Project Nexus fit-out, with Practec salvaging and reusing materials wherever possible. “We recycled where we could. Relocating roller doors and re-purposing an existing metal staircase and even donating uplifted carpet tiles to South Auckland schools. “What we handled really well was completing a successful staged handover within tight time frames and using resourcefulness and resilience, and ensuring every stage of the project was completed to high standards,” says Ryane. Practec was founded in 1999, and since then, managing director Stephen Davies has led the firm’s involvement in projects across Auckland. Practec has delivered a wide portfolio of interior fit-outs across public and private developments, offering a full spectrum of services from design, build, costing and value engineering to early contractor involvement, project management and construction processes. Practec can take a complex design brief and utilise its extensive technical knowledge and skilled trade partnerships to deliver functional, accolade-worthy fit-out projects of every scale. Specialising in all aspects of commercial and residential plumbing • Plumbing • Backflow • Drainlaying • Gasfitting • CCTV • Hot water solutions Ph 09 354 4548 Email info@sxplumbing.co.nz 130B Main Highway, Ellerslie, Auckland 1051 PO Box 15032, New Lynn, Auckland 0640 Representing Excellence Master Plumbers • Certifying Plumbers • Certifying Drainlayers • Certifying Gasfitters
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