Tory Street Car Park demolition

Naylor Love was engaged to demolish an eight-level car park building in the Wellington CBD, which had sustained structural damage from the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. As part of the demolition contract, we also took over and managed the cordon that was put in place for public safety by Wellington City Council.

The parking, also known as the Reading Cinema car park, had a footprint of around 3,185m². Each suspended floor slab consisted of 16.3 metre-long concrete pre-cast double-T units with in-situ concrete topping, supported by 48 reinforced concrete columns and beams. The car park structure also included access ramps, stair towers and two lift shafts.

The methodology and sequence of demolition, as well as constant monitoring of the structure, was critical to minimize the impact on the remaining structure during demolition. This was reviewed and discussed at each daily pre-start meeting.

The bulk of the demolition was carried out by a Ceres NZ using a CAT 385 excavator with a 45m high reach boom fitted with MP20 shear. It was supported by a CAT 345 excavator fitted with a GDP 900 shear, a CAT 330 excavator fitted with a V55 hydraulic breaker, and a DOOSAN 300 excavator for bulk loading.

It was estimated that 36,000 tonnes of concrete and 700 tonnes of reinforcing/structural steel was carried off site in 3,000 truckloads. The demolition works were completed on time and to the high safety standards required by Wellington City Council in this high-profile location. Site works and minor remedials continued on site once the cordon was lifted.