| 101 BUILDING Westland - CYB Construction School rebuild a considered collaboration Kelly Deeks The rebuild of the Westland High School’s hall and administration block involved a 50/50 joint venture partnership Greymouth based CYB Construction and Fox Glacier building firm Gibb Construction. PROUD TO HAVE COMPLETED EARTHWORKS FOR THE WESTLAND HIGH SCHOOL HALL REBUILD 027 4310 461 OR 03 755 8448 admin@henryadams.co.nz A carefully considered collaboration between two West Coast building companies has resulted in a superior solution for Westland High School as well as a good amount of ongoing employment for two teams of builders. Known and trusted Greymouth builder CYB Construction won the tender for the rebuild of Westland High School’s hall and administration block. As part of the tender submission, CYB Construction Director Chris Yeats outlined his plan to enter a 50/50 joint venture partnership for the project with Fox Glacier building firm Gibb Construction. “Grant Gibb and I have done a lot of work together over the years, and the glacier towns are really having a hard time at the moment with the majority of their income lost from international tourism,” Chris says. “By utilising this company from the glaciers, where there is no work, this would keep them employed for more than a year, and that’s what has happened. “This partnership has worked out really well, with Grant as site manager and he is a real asset on the job. All of his builders are really outdoors kind of guys, they are into hunting and fishing. T “They are into clean living and it shows through in the work they do. The standard is right up there and we can all be really proud of the finished product.” CYB Construction was at Westland High School in 2012, completing a renovation to the administration block connected to the school hall. In 2016, a fire destroyed both, and the school got to work on a new design and layout to improve the flow into and around the school. “What they’ve rebuilt is much better than what they had,” Chris says. “We have built this brand new and up-to date 1000sqm building, but we’ve also renovated the ends of three 1950s classroom blocks that now link into this building, with exterior decking, walkways, concrete paths and attractive landscaping and the school is going to benefit from this for a long time to come.” With the administration block on one side of the hall, the opposite side houses a brand new music suite with soundproof walls and doors which can be set up as a recording studio or a performance suite. “This is really good for the kids of Hokitika. My kids went to that school and I remember sitting in the old hall on numerous occasions. It was sad to have it burn down but the replacement is so much better than what they had before, and I believe they are really going to appreciate it.” CYB Construction has a loyal local staff and subcontractor base, who are involved in this project but also brought in a number of temporary construction staff from Christchurch to complete this substantial project, which with Covid delays, has lasted for close to 16 months. Chris says on a long project, the drudgery can start to set in, and Grant has risen to the challenge of keeping the team on track and motivated. “He’ll do a lot of giving, such as bringing in a bunch of pies (or ice blocks when it’s hot) that he pays for out of his own money. He really does lead from the front.” Grant’s 2IC on site is CYB Construction’s Bryan O’Neil, and key office-based team members include CYB contracts and accounts director Denise McPaike and quantity surveyor Nicole Tai. The team worked closely with Garry Suckling from Suckling Stringer Quantity Surveyors at tender stage to get the project over the line. Chris also mentioned the contribution to this project of Nigel Jordan, Blair Hopkins, Matt Reedy. Tony Mesman and Alan Wilson who acted as leaders of the site team. On advice from the Ministry of Education, CYB Construction also employed Woods Harris Consulting senior construction programmer Tim Raine to keep the project on track and to help provide monthly reports as required by the Ministry. The design was a collaboration between Wayne Kelsall of Greymouth’s Hopkinson Kelsall Team Architects and William Fulton of Christchurch’s Fulton Ross Team Architects. “By utilising this company from the glaciers, where there is no work, this would keep them employed for more than a year, and that’s what has happened.”
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