Originally published in Waikato Times, Monday 19 January 2026.
Fog and cranes dominate - but now it’s the theatre’s turn. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.
When you stand in front of the new BNZ Theatre, it’s easy to get swept up in the polished finish, the stone façade, the glass, the curve of the auditorium tucked neatly behind the restored frontage of the old Hamilton Hotel.
But beneath that public face lies one of the most intricate construction projects the city has ever seen.
Long before concrete was poured or cranes went up, the theatre’s bones were being imagined on screens and sketchpads. Designed by architects Jasmax, with specialist theatre consultants Charcoalblue shaping everything from acoustics to sightlines, the brief was clear: build a world-class performing arts venue that honoured the past but didn’t get trapped in it.
Almost there. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.
That was easier said than done. The site sits on the river’s edge, layered with hundreds of years of Hamilton history.
When demolition began in 2021, crews found asbestos, contaminated soil, and a patchwork of structural eras stitched together inside the Hamilton Hotel complex. Instead of bulldozing, Fosters Construction took a slow, deliberate approach: stripping the site by hand, reinforcing what needed saving, and carefully lifting out heritage elements destined for reuse.
How it was for many a month. PHOTO: Mark Taylor / WAIKATO TIMES.
One of the most dramatic early engineering feats was the retention structure — the giant steel skeleton that held up the old hotel façade while everything behind it was dismantled. To drivers on Victoria Street it looked like an enormous exoskeleton. To engineers, it was a 3D puzzle requiring precise calculations: strong enough to keep the façade standing for nearly two years, but flexible enough to adapt as construction zones shifted around it.
Below ground, work was even more complex. The new theatre required deep foundations and heavy retaining walls to stabilise the site between the street and the river. Piling rigs worked for months driving foundations into the earth, creating a reinforced platform strong enough to hold a 1300-seat auditorium and a 33-metre fly tower.
By early 2023 the theatre began its slow rise. Concrete walls grew level by level. The fly tower, needed to lift curtains, scenery, and full sets far above the stage, started taking shape. The project had about 250 people on site daily by mid-2025.
Magic! PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.
Inside, precision mattered. The auditorium’s curves weren’t just for looks and every angle was tuned to create balanced, warm acoustics, giving Hamilton its first venue truly designed for both orchestral and amplified performance. Charcoalblue modelled how sound would move around the space, adjusting the geometry until every seat met international standards.
Then came the moment Hamiltonians noticed: the scaffolding came down. What had been a construction site for years suddenly looked like a theatre. The heritage façade stood proudly, its brickwork cleaned and restored. Behind it, the new structure revealed itself as a blend of river-facing glass, Hinuera stone, and timber detailing.
The final push involved kilometres of wiring, state-of-the-art lighting rigs, sound systems, safety checks, and the installation of the fully restored American oak staircase.
By the time the last crane was removed, the BNZ Theatre had transformed from sketches to a landmark. It’s a feat of architecture, engineering, and community ambition and a building that carries the weight of the past while opening its doors to the future.