Seismic assessment ongoing: council
However, work continues on a detailed assessment, and options regarding seismic strengthening are expected to be put in front of councillors early next year.
Substantial restoration is also required of the exterior facade and work on this is expected to be carried out until at least 2028.
The Dunedin Centre in the Octagon is made up of the Municipal Chambers, Town Hall and Glenroy Auditorium, built between 1880 and 1930.
Some ornamental Oamaru stone fell from the chambers building in 2020, leading to precautionary measures being taken around it and the Town Hall, as both were due for remedial work.
Detailed investigations began the following year and in 2022 Dunedin City Council meetings were shifted out of the Municipal Chambers and have yet to return there.
The council did not include funding for strengthening the buildings when it adopted its 2025-34 long-term plan last month, but $14million was allocated for heritage exterior restoration, seismic investigation and some other work.
An update about the programme is set to be discussed by the council this week.
A report for councillors said the centre's interior had been modified over the years and some structural work had been carried out.
The centre's seismic resilience was "not well understood" and some interior fixtures and mechanical systems were "either in poor condition or approaching the end of their serviceable life".
"Over time, parts of the exterior facade have been renewed. However, the exterior is now at a stage where a more wholesale restoration is required."
Scaffold gantries were put up after the October 2020 incident to prevent harm to pedestrians by catching any more material that might fall.
The council said there had since been "further occasions where stone, slate and cast-iron balustrades have fallen from the building".
Seismic investigation and exterior restoration were regarded as separate, but connected, projects.
Engineering consultants WSP was engaged this year to develop a detailed seismic assessment of the property.
It is expected to be completed and reviewed by the end of this year and council staff said they intended to produce a report for councillors about options for strengthening, including potential costs, early next year.
Regarding the exterior, the council said a sealant was historically applied to the Oamaru stone surface.
"While this approach was a common practice for the time, the types of sealants used did not allow the stone to breathe."
Moisture could be trapped under the sealed layer, dissolving the stone over time.
grant.miller@odt.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
10 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Volunteers transform hall
Having smoko at Balclutha's Kingdom Hall last week are (from left) Sam Crawford, Peter Murray and Ben Meares. PHOTO: NICK BROOK One Balclutha address is the focus of an international volunteer effort. About 250 unpaid volunteers have joined forces for a $322,000 upgrade of the Balclutha Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Gormack St. The hall was built of honey-coloured Oamaru stone in 1989, and this year's work includes a new roof, fascia, soffits, doors and double-glazed windows. New indoor features include air-conditioning, insulation and acoustic tiles, a new stage, audio-visual system and a revised floor plan. "It's about keeping the learning environment comfortable, healthy and safe for everybody," project overseer Ben Meares, originally of Whangarei, said. Hailing from Mosgiel to Gisborne and further afield, all volunteers were church members, and Mr Meares moved with a core team of nine permanent specialists for church missions ranging from community renovations to disaster aid in the Pacific. "We like to have people in homes rather than caravans, especially at this time of year," local carpenter Sam Crawford said. "At my place I've had four volunteers staying at a time." Balclutha congregation elder Peter Murray and his wife moved in with his in-laws to make his own home available for two volunteer couples. "Generally, a Kingdom Hall gets a minor reno after 15 years and a major reno after 30 years," he said. "The local congregation is very happy to look after our travelling volunteers, and we like to be here and help out where we can." The project started at the beginning of June and was funded centrally by the international church of Jehovah's Witnesses, and was hoped to be completed and signed off by the council at the end of this month. While the renovation was under way, the congregation of 38 were holding their Wednesday and Saturday meetings at the Southern Institute of Technology Telford campus.
Otago Daily Times
27-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Seismic assessment ongoing: council
Seismic resilience of the Dunedin Centre, including the Municipal Chambers, is not well understood, the city council says. However, work continues on a detailed assessment, and options regarding seismic strengthening are expected to be put in front of councillors early next year. Substantial restoration is also required of the exterior facade and work on this is expected to be carried out until at least 2028. The Dunedin Centre in the Octagon is made up of the Municipal Chambers, Town Hall and Glenroy Auditorium, built between 1880 and 1930. Some ornamental Oamaru stone fell from the chambers building in 2020, leading to precautionary measures being taken around it and the Town Hall, as both were due for remedial work. Detailed investigations began the following year and in 2022 Dunedin City Council meetings were shifted out of the Municipal Chambers and have yet to return there. The council did not include funding for strengthening the buildings when it adopted its 2025-34 long-term plan last month, but $14million was allocated for heritage exterior restoration, seismic investigation and some other work. An update about the programme is set to be discussed by the council this week. A report for councillors said the centre's interior had been modified over the years and some structural work had been carried out. The centre's seismic resilience was "not well understood" and some interior fixtures and mechanical systems were "either in poor condition or approaching the end of their serviceable life". "Over time, parts of the exterior facade have been renewed. However, the exterior is now at a stage where a more wholesale restoration is required." Scaffold gantries were put up after the October 2020 incident to prevent harm to pedestrians by catching any more material that might fall. The council said there had since been "further occasions where stone, slate and cast-iron balustrades have fallen from the building". Seismic investigation and exterior restoration were regarded as separate, but connected, projects. Engineering consultants WSP was engaged this year to develop a detailed seismic assessment of the property. It is expected to be completed and reviewed by the end of this year and council staff said they intended to produce a report for councillors about options for strengthening, including potential costs, early next year. Regarding the exterior, the council said a sealant was historically applied to the Oamaru stone surface. "While this approach was a common practice for the time, the types of sealants used did not allow the stone to breathe." Moisture could be trapped under the sealed layer, dissolving the stone over time.
Otago Daily Times
05-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Children's ‘exquisite' artworks radiate joy
Barnardos Early Learning Centre preschool children (from left) Calyx McLean, Brooklyn Paton, both 3, Kalani Pullar, 4, Tessa Fergusson and Penelope Jamieson, both 3, stand in front of their collective artwork ''Found Object Art: Whakapapa Whanau Rakau'' by the Barnardos at the Burns Memorial Art Exhibition at the Forrester Gallery in Oamaru. PHOTO: JULES CHIN The Forrester Gallery in Oamaru celebrates 55 years of the Burns Memorial Art exhibition this month. The annual Burns Memorial Art Exhibition, that showcases the artistic talents of school schoolchildren from the Waitaki District, is on show in the Forrester Gallery till next Sunday. The showcase of local children's art was founded by George Burns, an Oamaru-born journalist who believed art was not a luxury but "a pathway back to sanity" and "a necessity for complete living". Forrester Gallery visual arts curator Anna McLean said she was very proud of the exhibition. "I feel immensely privileged that these exquisite masterpieces, radiating colour and joy, adorn the Forrester's walls." Ms McLean said it was exciting to see "the creativity that local akonga in the Waitaki area are producing year after year". She said the exhibition favoured community and relationships, creating meaningful experiences for the district's young people. "The works by the younger tamariki are wild and expressive, while the older students translate their personal experiences and interests with immense detail and thought. "They offer us glimpses into their unhindered creative intellect," she said. Gallery educator Elizabeth King said all the Waitaki District schools including early childhood learning centres were invited to enter the exhibition. Mrs King said "most years" all of the schools took part in the show, which runs over the school holiday period. "It's a big part of Waitaki and the most popular time of the year, the community love it," she said. George Burns was New Zealand's first Fulbright Scholar.
