ST JAMES THEATRE

Wellington

4 Oct

Written By AB

CLIENT: St James Theatre
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Maycroft Construction
LOCATION: Wellington
JOB TYPE: Seismic Strengthening

An icon of the Capital since its opening in 1912, the 1600-seat St. James Theatre was yellow-stickered in 2015 after an engineering assessment estimated it met only 20-30% of building code.

Patton Engineering were engaged by Maycroft Construction to provide early buildability advice before collaborating on delivering the significant restoration and seismic strengthening works to bring the theatre up to 67% of building code. Having the opportunity to fully understand the building in advance enabled all partners to work through challenges, reduce risk and offer beneficial cost savings to the Client. It also enabled Maycroft to engage with key stakeholders like the Royal New Zealand Ballet (who call the St James Theatre home) to ensure the programming and construction approach delivered the best outcomes for them.

To complete the restoration works, Patton installed over 100 tonne of structural steel into the historic theatre. Point Cloud software was used to digitally map the theatre so that we could work out how best to install the steel in advance – saving time on site and preventing any damage to the building’s heritage fabric. Point Cloud also offered another advantage – allowing us to close out detailing and identify any potential clashes in advance.

All of the work was undertaken with meticulous care to protect the St James’ heritage features and to ensure the finished product meets the high standard expected for a performance venue of such significance.