CLIENT: heritage new zealand pouhere taonga
SERVICE PROVIDED: quantity surveying
COMPLETION: june 2020
VALUE: $2.5 MILLION
AWARDS: New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2021; National Category Winner - Heritage & Restoration Project, Gold Award Winner - Heritage & Restoration Project
Constructed in 1866, Old St Paul’s church in Wellington is an iconic heritage building and the site of many historic events in the city.
The church suffered damage following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, with the timber building becoming up to 150mm wider in some places. The project consisted of repairs to the building, along with further internal structural strengthening and upgrades to systems such as lighting, heating, audio-visual, and fire suppression.
Urban Outcomes, in association with Possenniskie Consultants Limited, was engaged to provide quantity surveying services for this high-profile project. Leveraging Barry Possenniskie’s extensive experience in the restoration of heritage buildings, the client brought us in early to assist in the business case process; providing estimates and risk assessments in order to secure appropriate funding for Heritage New Zealand. During the Early Contractor Involvement phase Urban Outcomes worked closely with the main contractor to manage and review trade tender prices, as well as assessing the risks associated with working within a heritage building in order to obtain a robust contract sum within the approved budgets. Throughout the construction period we provided additional cost management services that included contract tender analysis, ongoing financial monitoring and final account agreement.
Undertaking construction work on heritage buildings comes with its own set of particular challenges, and Old St Paul’s was no exception. A key outcome of the remedial work was the requirement that it remained largely unnoticeable that any work had actually been completed on the building, so as not to materially alter its heritage aspects. Furthermore, the fragility of the building as a whole meant that extra care was necessary during construction, especially surrounding the beautiful stained-glass windows which remained in situ throughout. The additional level of care required on this building necessitated a careful balancing act between budget and quality by the entire consultant and contractor team, culminating in a highly successful project for the client and community.
