Hawkins Construction was awarded the contract for the construction of a new state of the art events centre on a lump sum tender basis, again proving Hawkins’ competitiveness in the market.
The new events centre has three levels, a basement, ground floor and mezzanine containing two function rooms, a full commercial kitchen, offices, a meeting room, first aid room and various amenities.
At the heart of the building is a large multipurpose space, which extends from the ground floor up to the underside of the roof. The project also included the construction of a new car park, associated civil works and landscaping. The sloping nature of the site meant various retaining walls had to be constructed.
It was imperative that the events centre was completed within the tight timeframe specified by the client. Through careful, strategic planning and re-programming, Hawkins successfully shortened the construction time by one month, thus providing the client with more important preparation time.
Late in the contract the client elected to construct new bleacher seating between the new Events Centre and the lake. Hawkins was awarded this contract comprising a sloping concrete slab with precast concrete seat units laid over. This posed a real challenge particularly around access, as the work on the new building was well into the construction phase.
Despite this, Hawkins was successfully able to incorporate this extra work into its programme for early completion.
The use of natural finish materials, such as honed blockwork, clear finished precast concrete and cedar, meant the highest standard of workmanship was required.
The project achieved the client’s expectations in terms of quality.
The Waipa District Council, the client for the new Events Centre, required that cost savings be found wherever possible during the build phase. Hawkins met with the subcontractors and suppliers involved in the project, as well as the mayor of Waipa and a series of councilors. A spirit of cooperation immediately developed which resulted in the conception of economies and cost saving initiatives.