Diamond Harbour ECE Project – Kidsfirst, Christchurch
Herman managed the Diamond Harbour ECE project on behalf of Kidsfirst Kindergartens. Kidsfirst has approximately 64 Early Childhood Education Centres and the Diamond Harbour ECE was the first new build for the Kidsfirst organisation in more than 20 years. Herman managed this project from initial conception until completion. The project won an architectural award and was opened by the Honourable John Key in 2015. The building is fully self sufficient and the solar system provides sufficient electricity for the ECE plus is able to feed back electricity into the main school. This building has been designed as an importance level 4 building (similar importance level as hospitals and police stations) which means it will be used by Civil Defence in times of a catastrophe. Herman is currently managing a number of other projects for Kidsfirst.
Catholic Heritage Church – Christchurch
This Catholic Heritage Church is an example of a heritage project that Herman has managed from design to completion.
This particular project involved the removal of the bell tower which was deemed a critical structural weakness and the strengthening of the archway above the sanctuary. The challenge was that a significant amount of the strengthening designs had to be undertaken during the construction. This meant that communication with all stakeholders was paramount to the success of the project.
New Primary School – Christchurch
This project is an example of an education project Herman has managed from conception to completion. This project involved the construction of ten new class rooms of which six are located in the double storey block and four in the single storey block. The designs encapsulates the philosophy of the modern learning environment.
One of the main challenges with an educational project is that the school needs to be able to operate as normal during the significant and sometimes intrusive construction phase.
Health and Safety plans had to be to the highest standards – during the construction phase no major health and safety incidents have occurred. This project was completed on time, under budget and against the highest quality standards. Feedback from the Board, Principle, Teaching staff and pupils was extremely positive.
Kapiti Coast Railway Corridor
This is one of the transportation projects Herman has successfully managed and involved the double tracking and electrification of the Kapiti Coast Railway Corridor.
This project involved a significant capital investment and the time constrains were very tight: the rolling stock had been purchased and needed to be operational as soon as possible to avoid costly down time.
Because of the large number of stakeholders associated with this project, communication was extremely important.
Methodist Church – Christchurch
The design and construction of a Methodist Church as a replacement for the original church which was lost during the 2011 Earthquake.
The design phase involved regular workshops with the Church community to ensure that the new Church was exactly what the local Church community wanted for their new place of worship.
This project also benefitted from having the ability to have the contractor who was going to build the church, involved during the design phase. This meant that construction issues could be resolved in the design phase and therefor minimising costly variations during construction. The Church was opened in October 2015 with an international blessing and celebratory service.
Lake Waikaremoana Walkway
The Lake Waikaremoana Walk is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks with many trampers visiting the area. The Department of Conservation engaged Herman to manage the designs and construction of the upgrade works to the Great Walk. The major challenge for this particular project was the remoteness of the Great Walk around Lake Waikaremoana. Access was only possible via helicopter or boat. All construction materials and staff had to be flown in. The project consisted of upgrading the walkway itself, replacement of a number of swing bridges and the installation of stairs and steps to make the difficult accessible areas more enjoyable and safe for less experienced trampers.