King Edward Street base build

The new South Dunedin Library & Community Complex is a two-level building with a library and community hub on the ground floor and three office tenancies on the first floor.

The ground floor features a deep slab-beam raft foundation, minimising the risk of settlement or uneven movement by distributing the building’s weight on the unstable site. Arranging for the intumescent coating on the ground floor structural steel to be applied off-site ensured a top-quality result and expedited the programme.

We built upper level with precast flat slabs, with reduced labour requirements compared to traditional in-situ methods in this lightning-fast build. From the upper level to the roofline, we installed lightweight, high strength structural steel DHS Purlins. The roof features a Dimond Warm Roof, making it only the second project in New Zealand to use this advanced roofing system.

Finishes on the building pay tribute to the area’s rich culture and heritage, including custom glass etching, brick slip cladding using reclaimed bricks from the original building on the site, and feature bluestone totems. We developed a 3D model of the totems, which allowed us to prepare accurate shop drawings and cutting lists for the manufacturer. Each piece of stone was angled and detailed precisely at the factory before coming together seamlessly on site.

Careful planning and sequencing of the construction methodology was essential on the constrained site, particularly for the erection of precast panels and flat slabs. We embraced the latest construction technology, using Trimble Connect to proactively identify clashes and cmBuilder to manage site logistics and planning. This paid dividends, allowing the wider project team to collaboratively workshop the methodology in the cloud.

We went on to complete the fitout of the library and council service centre on the ground floor for Dunedin City Council.