The Riccarton Community Centre project

Riccarton Community Centre project

The 2011 Christchurch earthquakes had long lasting effects on numerous Christchurch communities.

Even now, eight years later, many organisations have to improvise meeting spaces as a result of losing their original buildings to earthquake damage. This was the case for the Halswell-HornbyRiccarton Community Board after the loss of the Riccarton Community Centre until 17 December 2019. On that day, the new Riccarton Community Centre officially opened thanks to the project’s main contractor, Watts & Hughes Construction. With 34 years of experience, the completion of over 400 large scale projects and a wide range of services, Watts & Hughes Construction was an obvious choice for this project. Watts & Hughes Construction was the main contractor that engaged all sub-contractors such as Beattie Air, Asnet Technologies and Décortech to fulfill the project. Reflecting on the overall project, Watts & Hughes project manager, Patrick McCorry says, “It was a relatively straight forward project.” When asked about what he enjoyed most about the project, Patrick says, “Just working with the teams from Beca and the council, they were

extremely easy to work with and just being able to work together to solve any issues or problems that arose on a weekly to daily basis. “Everybody was willing to put in the work to put the project over the line successfully.” Located near Riccarton Bush, The Riccarton Community Centre is also referred to as Rarakau which translates to tree in te reo Maori. In collaboration with the city council and community centre representatives, Beca designed the building to resemble Riccarton Bush, starting with the various fences and bespoke macrocarpa bike stands simulating a thicket of trees.

The Techlam beams connecting to the lightweight steel roof and roof-mounted photovoltaic solar panels mimic tree branches with the columns acting as trunks. Featured exterior panels on either side of the entrance convey the theme most overtly with illustrations of tree trunks. Continuing the tree theme, the interior of the building is made up of timber ply and precast concrete. The precast concrete acts as a backdrop for the timber ply. As a result of the contrast in color and texture, the timber ply ceilings and feature walls really pop. Seeing the building for the trees, the strong tree theme expressed throughout the building project solidifies the building’s role in the community. Symbolism aside, preparation was required before the community centre could be built. “We did the design for the dewatering we did for this project. We had to drill wells to get down to the water table to then pump the water back out into sediment tanks so we could excavate and bring back up to level,” says Patrick in regards to what needed to be done before constructing the building. Inside the building there is a main hall and five activity rooms; the main hall and two of the five rooms are available to the public for hire. Attached to the main hall is a kitchen made for general food preparation which is ideal for large functions. Just working with the “ teams from Beca and the council, they were extremely easy to work with and just being able to work together to solve any issues or problems that arose on a weekly to daily basis. Everybody was willing to put in the work to put the project over the line successfully. - Watts & Hughes project manager, ” Patrick McCorry

The community centre is meant to be used by everyone in the community, so accessible amenities are included like a ramp at the entrance, lift, a hearing loop in the main hall and accessible toilets. Watts & Hughes Construction was given a tight timeline so the building could be open before Christmas break. Strict deadlines can make or break a team, but Patrick says it brought teams involved in the project closer together. Watts & Hughes was able to execute the project on time so that the surrounding community could enjoy the new facilities over the course of the holiday. CT

Watts & Hughes Construction PO Box 80157 Riccarton Christchurch (03) 423 9305 tenders.chch@wattsgroup.co.nz www.whconstruction.co.nz

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