Business South May 2021

22 | “A community-led project like this is very rewarding for us and there has been good communication with everyone involved all the way through.” Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? St Albans community gearing up All the timber used in the new community centre functions like a big eco-friendly carbon store. Watts and Hughes Construction DEVELOPMENT T he long wait for St Albans is nearly over, with construction of a new $2.3 million community centre for the Christchurch inner city suburb in its final phase. St Albans’ residents have been without a permanent community centre for 10 years. The previous one was severely damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes and was subse- quently demolished. Transitional solutions were provided by the Lions Club International Foundation and the Shirley Community Trust, but local community groups in St Albans are now very much look- ing forward to moving into their new fit-for- purpose centre. Project design was completed by the Christchurch City Council in close consultation with the community through the St Albans Community Centre Rebuild Working Party and the Papanui-Innes Community Board. Watts and Hughes Construction were selected to build the new centre on Colombo Street and got to work on-site last February. Construction is now coming to an end with the new centre on track to open in mid-April 2021. Environmentally sustainable features are to the fore in the new single-storey 375m² building. Large high-strength cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels were used for flooring, walls and ceiling and the centre is clad in Earthen high performance sustainable timber cladding, (supplied by Health Based Building). The cladding, manufactured from New Zealand’s highest quality sustainable radiata, is chromium and arsenic treatment free. All the timber in this new centre functions like a big eco-friendly carbon store. T Kim Newth Attention to detail has been critical on this project. Watts and Hughes Construction was assiduous in making sure CLT panels were pre-drilled to exact specifications so that ser- vices such as electrical sockets and sprinkler systems could be connected smoothly on-site. “When you’ve got a solid wall panel that is five and a half metres high, it was vital to get the shop drawings exactly right so all the ser- vices are able to go in correctly,” says Regan Cliff, Watts & Hughes project manager for the new centre. “We didn’t want any surprises.” The building is very detailed and once all these had been worked through, the panels were manufactured, shipped from KLH in Austria and then craned into position. “The panels went up well and pretty quickly in the end.” The new building includes a large commu- nity hall with sprung sports floor, educational and recreation spaces, an office/meeting room, hallway and kitchen flowing to decking and a large outdoor area. Watts and Hughes Construction is also delivering the interior fit-out. “A community-led project like this is very rewarding for us and there has been good communication with everyone involved all the way through.” Watts and Hughes Construction has a strong record in civic construction, with past projects including the new Riccarton Commu- nity Centre and the new Opawa Public Library. Watts and Hughes also built Akaroa’s new health centre. The company is proud of its strong health and safety record, with health and safety audits a key part of every project. New projects underway for Watts and Hughes in 2021 include construction of a Taco Bell restaurant in Linwood, due for comple- tion by October/November. It will be the first Taco Bell in the South Island. Also planned for this year is the commence- ment of a multi-use retail and commercial development to the north of Christchurch City which will include some key retail tenants; this site will also have capacity for future develop- ment phases to satisfy the projected growth of the area. info@ptlnz.com +64 3 925 9173 PO Box 8415, Christchurch 8041 PTL offer professional structure and fire engineering consulting services combining state-of-the-art technology and expert specialist engineering. While PTL’s capabilities and services extend well beyond this area, PTL and timber structures have become synonymous. Over the last 15 years, PTL staff have been involved in many significant mass timber projects in New Zealand and around the world. T: 03 366 1777 • E: engineering@pfc.co.nz • W: www.pfc.co.nz Structural • Mechanical • Electrical Fire • Civil • Hydraulic • Acoustic Powell Fenwick is proud to provide engineering services for the St Albans Community Centre Project