Wellington Central Library: Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui (the window to the wider world) - 2022-25
Refurbishment and Seismic strengthening project.
SP1 demolition involved the removal of exterior pre cast panels and removal of a large percentage of the ground and mezzanine floors. SP2 works involved the wire saw modification to 90 columns to install the Isolators and LRB’s. During our involvement on the 4 year long project we also provided civil scope services, concrete modification for prop and bracing installations, asbestos removal and mould remediation
Our team played a vital role in the project alongside main contractor LT McGuinness and many other top tier contractors on a very complex job. We started in October 2022 and have taken pride in offering our services right through to 2025 - this has been a mammoth effort, at our peak we had a crew of 12, servicing multiple areas of the job, at peak times the project has had well over 250 people on site.
Although the project had many milestones, one of the most honourable was the “Grand Release” – in December 2024 we played our part having multiple teams release Te Matapihi onto its newly established foundations fully standalone. We had crews with Flame Gear cutting temporary steel supports, releasing sections of old slabs and structural concrete elements. This news article: “Major milestone: Te Matapihi released onto its base isolators” explains more.
Working with LT McGuinness on this project has been nothing but enjoyable, giving our team the opportunity to up skill many of our younger crew with the technically complex work. This project enabled us to employ new staff who remain with us today. The Library job required almost every discipline in Demolition across the 4 year timeframe, Cut and Crane, Machine Demolition, Steel removal (Flame Cutting/Plasma) , Soft Strip, Concrete cutting: Wire Saw, Wall Saw, Road Saw, Hand Saw, Bar Saw – electric and combustion!
A project of this scale is not achievable without our entire crew, but leading them takes another step – Tim, Connor, Takena and Nathan all played vital roles in leading elements of the job which speak volumes for our Wellington team. Every Wellington based employee worked on this project for at least 2 months at any given time collectively. Overseen by John our Wellington manager and many other Ward site support staff from both Auckland and Wellington offices. Extensive planning and paperwork was involved in this project, ensuring the safety of the team and successful completion of each element.
The Wellington region has less recycling resources available for Demolition and Construction waste than Auckland does. Despite this we have been able to recycle an average of 80% of all generated waste using our standard operating procedures.
Whanau Day
Ward enjoys any opportunity to nurture the curious minds of children interested in machinery. So we were happy to help LT McGuinness with their Whanau Day. An open day to families that showcased what we were doing in a controlled safe manner. The Ward team set up a demonstration of our robot excavator (pictured above), wire saw and other equipment. The children and their parents thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
