2020
Christchurch
PROJECT
Kate Sheppard House refurbishment
CLIENT
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Our team gets results:
Stephen Threadgall – Project Director / Canterbury & Upper South Island Lead
Kim Lochhead – Senior Project Manager
kate sheppard house REfurbishment
The epicentre of women’s suffrage - Kate Sheppard’s Christchurch Ilam home has opened as a place to tell her story and the social changes that have followed some 132 years after NZ’s trailblazing feminist lived in this home. Built in 1888, this Category 1 listed kauri villa was purchased by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT) in 2020. HNZPT was entrusted with this special property and the journey to return Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House to its former glory, repurposing it as a visitor experience which would tell the narrative of the remarkable achievements of Kate Sheppard and others who worked tirelessly to achieve women’s suffrage and to provide a venue for continuing her legacy.
The works included repairing and strengthening floors, ceilings, wall linings, repositioning walls and doors, exterior and interior painting, fireplace maintenance, remedial carpentry works and garden redevelopment. All works were in keeping with the historic fabric of the house. In a partnership between the University of Canterbury and HNZPT, Kate Sheppard house will also be used as a base for collaboration, seminars and talks as well as academic research, with seminar rooms and meeting rooms.
Kate Sheppard House features interactive displays developed by Story Inc. bringing alive formative details such as the gathering of 31,000 petition signatures printed on the replicas of Kate’s original wallpaper. HNZPT Manager Heritage Assets Southern, Dr Christine Whybrew, says “We are honoured to have the responsibility of caring for this place, and sharing its stories with visitors.”
Photography credit: HNZPT Chris Hoopmann.
The legacy of the suffrage movement and achievements of Kate Sheppard and other New Zealand women will be told at this special place.
prime minister jacinda ardern, Excerpt from the Prime Minister’s Speech at the opening ceremony, 15 december 2020
2018
Christchurch
PROJECT
Lyttelton Timeball Station
CLIENT
Heritage New Zealand
Our team gets results:
Stephen Threadgall – Project Director / Canterbury & Upper South Island Lead
Watch the video:
Lyttelton Timeball Station
The Lyttelton Timeball Station is a historic maritime landmark, and one of only a few left in the world. The Timeball Station experienced significant damage in the 2010/11 earthquakes. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga were committed to the reconstruction of the Timeball tower, Timeball, original flagpole and surrounding grounds.
A specialist team tacked the restoration, the rebuild philosophy was to retain as much of the original fabric of the building as practicable.
The site is a nod to its very important past but also a newly plotted pathway to the future. It incorporates original heritage elements with new, such as the automated Timeball mechanism replacing the original component. The project was a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Merit winner for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2019.
The Building Intelligence Group went the extra mile to ensure this project of national and international significance was an outstanding success.
Shelia Watson, Director Southern Region, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere
2017
Christchurch
PROJECT
Deans Farm Buildings restoration at Christchurch Boys’ High School
CLIENT
Ministry of Education
Our team gets results:
Stephen Threadgall – Project Director / Canterbury & Upper South Island Lead
Deans Farm Buildings RESTORATION
The historic Deans Farm Buildings at Christchurch Boys’ High School have been repurposed for the future, after undergoing seismic strengthening and heritage restoration following dilapidation and earthquake devastation.
The CBHS Board saw a future worth saving and engaged The Building Intelligence Group to lead a specialist project team to bring the buildings to 67% NBS and to repurpose the buildings into a fitting home for the Old Boys’ Museum and School Uniform Shop.
A Heritage Impact Assessment and Temporary Protection Plan were completed in parallel with the design to seismically strengthening the building in a programmed sequence of works. The project won a Canterbury Heritage Award.
The Building Intelligence Group’s experience and attention to detail ensured that the heritage values of the buildings were not overlooked while meeting all project objectives.
Carole-Lynne Kerrigan, Built Heritage Specialist
2019
Wellington
PROJECT
Katherine Mansfield House & Garden restoration & redevelopment
CLIENT
Katherine Mansfield House & Garden Birthplace Society
Our team gets results:
Byron Roff – Central Business Manager
katherine mansfield house & Garden
Katherine Mansfield House & Garden at 25 Tinakori Road has long been a Wellington icon, and a destination for tourists, students and fans of Mansfield. After 131 years standing, and as 30 years as a museum open to the public, the birthplace of one of New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed writers received some much-needed maintenance and upgrades.
Our team worked with the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Society Board and a dedicated team of specialists, including Dr William Cottrell, an expert in furniture and interiors of 19th century New Zealand. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga was consulted during the project. The works included replacing the roof, flashings and gutters and damaged weather boards, with remedial attention to the front windows which had been installed in a mid-1980’s development, and the installation of a heating and ventilation system. A wraparound timeline has been installed in an upper room and a new permanent exhibition room has been created.
“People are seeing the house in a whole new light which is very rewarding” says Director Cherie Jacobsen. Visitors now have an even greater insight into Katherine Mansfield’s life.
2015
Wellington
PROJECT
Hall of Memories
CLIENT
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Our team gets results:
Andrew McCalman – Project Director
Hall of Memories
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the need to seismically upgrade the Category 1 Heritage listed Hall of Memories in Wellington became a priority. This iconic building serves as the commemorative chapel of the National War Memorial.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage set a very clear objective, the work should be imperceptible and needed to be ready for the Anzac Day Centenary Celebrations in 2015. Our knowledge of heritage and seismic projects was invaluable, and The Building Intelligence Group led a specialist team to carry out the seismic strengthening and rehabilitation works.
Looking at a photograph of the Hall of Memories before and after the restoration, you likely wouldn’t be able to tell much difference – which was the objective.
2016
Christchurch
PROJECT
The Christchurch Club restoration
CLIENT
The Christchurch Club
Our team gets results:
Tess Browne – Project Director
The Christchurch Club
The Christchurch Club is a Category 1 listed building, designed in 1856 by Benjamin Mountfort. After the devastating earthquakes, The Christchurch Club embarked on a determined journey to restore, strengthen and repurpose the Club for the future.
The Club’s aspirations and project brief required high quality, innovative and enduring design solutions that reflected the Club’s special character. Conservation of the building’s heritage elements was vital, balanced with an overarching requirement to repurpose and enhance the Club.
The Club’s vision was brave and determined, in the context of the loss of so many heritage buildings in Christchurch. Seismic strengthening has taken the building to 100% NBS. Heritage elements blend seamlessly with new facilities.
2011
Wellington
PROJECT
Old High Court restoration
CLIENT
Ministry of Justice
Our team gets results:
Ian Macaskill – Project Director / Managing Director
Old High Court restoration
The Old High Court is one of New Zealand’s most important public buildings. Strengthening, restoring and base isolating this Category I heritage building concurrently with the new build of the adjacent Supreme Court, was one of Wellington’s most unique and challenging projects.
As project managers, The Building Intelligence Group established and led the optimal team to deliver this landmark project.
A project of this magnitude demanded continuously balancing the functional requirements, integrity of the architecture, heritage values, cost and timeframes to ensure no element was compromised by another.
Receiving many accolades, this successful project was a multiple-award winner.
