Waikato Times: Superstructure reveals shape of theatrical things to come in downtown Hamilton

Originally published in the Waikato Times, Saturday 4 November 2023.

By Mike Mather.

The Fosters Construction team have literally been in the pits over the wet winter months. Now that the summertime is approaching they - and their handiwork - are rising up. Photo: MARK TAYLOR / WAIKATO TIMES.

People passing the new Waikato Regional Theatre construction site can’t help but notice that big changes are taking place.

Much of what has been happening over the past year is obvious: A lot of dirt has been excavated and trucked away.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of concrete mixer trucks have made their way down Hamilton’s main street and disappeared behind the high fences blocking the view of what’s happening there.

But structural steel is now starting to appear over the parapet. It’s an apparition that has led to much excitement and has fuelled the air of anticipation surrounding the project.

But the question must be asked: What are we looking at, exactly?

The man with the answers is Graeme Ward, the director at project management company RDT Pacific, which is overseeing the project.

These columns will form the building’s foyer, which will provide theatregoers with expansive views of the Waikato River. Photo: MARK TAYLOR / WAIKATO TIMES.

“The steel posts on the Embassy Park side of the site are the columns which help to form the riverside foyer, the location of the feature staircase and Hotere,” he explains.

The “Hotere” is a striking, large-scale mural by famed New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere that was rescued from the dilapidated and soon-to-be-demolished Founders Theatre.

Commissioned by the Hamilton City Council and the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and unveiled in 1973, it hung in the Founders until its closure and will now be a showpiece feature of the new theatre.

“[The columns] reach from the lower level, where the café space is planned, up to the roof. On the external wall they’ll support the glass wall providing views down to the Waikato River.

An artist's impression of what Ralph Hotere's Founders Theatre mural will look like inside the new Waikato Regional Theatre. Image: MOMENTUM WAIKATO.

“Under them the main plantroom has been formed, which is the home for the main air conditioning equipment.”

From this point on in the construction, the site will be the scene of constant change.

The next observable change will be “the installation of a lot more structural steel, along with new floors as we shift to the main structural framing of the building.”

That’s comprised of a lot of structural steel, concrete shear walls, and concrete floors - meaning those concrete trucks will be trundling down Victoria St for a while longer.

“Due to the size and complexity of the structure the construction is a series of stages with many concrete pours, and associated concrete trucks, expected through to mid next year.”

The girders propping up the frontage of the old Hamilton Hotel facade on Victoria St will slowly be taken away over the coming months, as the superstructure behind it is put into place. Photo: MARK TAYLOR / WAIKATO TIMES.

As well as the foyer area, structural steel is also being installed on the corner of Victoria St and Sapper Moore Jones Place, behind the heritage façade of the old Hamilton Hotel.

Over the next few months new floors, and roof framing will go into place along the “long side” of the building. As these are completed they will provide support for the façade, enabling the large steel props on the Victoria St side to be removed.

The building of the auditorium structure is also well under way, with the orchestra pit and the area under the stalls seating being formed.

“The next stages will see more shear walls, structural steel, and concrete floors forming the critical elements to envelope the space. As that space rises, so will the key supporting back-of-house spaces - the scene and loading docks which are located off Sapper Moore Jones Place.”

The shear walls around the auditorium were up to 500mm thick, Ward said.

“As the auditorium relies on the mass of the concrete structure to help control the acoustics, they’re a critical component of both the structural and acoustic solution of the building.

RDT Pacific director Graeme Ward: “The Fosters [Construction] team are doing an excellent job in producing a quality result, and doing so in tight, inner-city site.” Photo: RDT PACIFIC.

“The number and the tight packing of the reinforcing steel has been one of the key challenges with limited space for the team installing them ... [It’s] been one of the trickier parts of the construction to date, with a large number of people involved and a lot of steel and concrete going in to getting us out of the ground.”

Tricky and at least a little bit unpleasant.

“It has been done over the winter period, with corresponding wet conditions for the team to work in.”

But while the inclement conditions were not conducive to getting the job done speedily, Ward said he was extremely pleased with how the theatre was coming together.

“The Fosters [Construction] team are doing an excellent job in producing a quality result, and doing so in tight, inner-city site.

“Being located on Victoria St means that some disruption to neighbours and the general public is inevitable, however the site configuration is working well with very positive feedback being regularly received.

“Having reached this stage and with the lower floors now having been poured the crew are enjoying a little more space to work on on site.”