Tower Junction extension and redesign wins silver award

The expansion of Ngāi Tahu Property’s Tower Junction shopping and dining complex received a silver award at the Registered Master Builders Association’s 2019 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards on Friday night.

The annual industry awards - presented at a gala ceremony at Sky City in Auckland on May 17 - judged more than 80 commercial projects on their design, contract management, construction and project delivery and outcomes.  Silver awards are given to projects achieving 82.5 per cent of the available points.

Ngāi Tahu Property’s Tower Junction outdoor shopping complex in Addington underwent a significant expansion last year adding two new buildings, attracting new stores and eateries. The revitalisation project included the installation of whakario panels by Ngāi Tahu master carver Fayne Robinson. These represent the area’s history as a nohoanga (resting point) on the trail between Kaiapoi and Rāpaki over the Port Hills.

“Gaining the silver award from the Registered Master Builders Association reflects the success of this project from its design to construction and commissioning,” Ngāi Tahu Property chief executive David Kennedy says.

“The extension has added value into a long-standing asset in the Ngāi Tahu Property investment portfolio, delivering new stores and restaurant choices for visitors to Tower Junction - a significant outdoor shopping complex in Te Waipounamu, the South Island. Importantly, the project also reintroduced Ngāi Tahu cultural markers and stories of mana whenua from this area of Canterbury back into the landscape, incorporating Toi Māori (Māori art) from master carver Fayne Robinson.”

Buchan, the architects for the build, put ambience and atmosphere at the heart of the multi-million-dollar project to improve use of Tower Junction’s expansive parking lot and increase foot traffic.

Everyone, from commercial construction specialists Hawkins through to the project’s engineering contractors and consultants, shared the same vision, Buchan associate Gavin Gillson says.

“That produced an exceptional ‘award-winning’ outcome for Ngāi Tahu Property and the thousands of customers who will visit Tower Junction every year.”

Construction was led by Hawkins, with additional input from engineers Powell Fenwick Consultants, quantity surveyors Rider Levett Bucknall, landscape architects Kamo Marsh and environmental and geotechnical work from Tonkin + Taylor. Matapopore, a charitable trust which advises on the culture and values of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, the mana whenua of Ōtautahi, supported the development of Ngāi Tahu elements within the complex.

Ngāi Tahu Property development manager Lucy Gould, Buchan associate Gavin Gillson and Hawkins 2017 site manager Darren Tucker at the 2019 Master Builders Association New Zealand Commercial Project Awards.