Strata Group was the structural engineer for the Waiaroha Discovery Centre and landscaping features, becoming involved in mid 2020.

Strata’s team led by Duncan Bruce, Nigel Grant, Fred da Silveira, Sam Stanton was responsible for the Construction Monitoring for the items it designed and also the structural elements that Stantec designed for the water treatment plant building at both Frimley and Eastbourne Street sites.  

Duncan says the final outcome is incredible and “a testament to the HDC and their commitment to educating the public about how we should respect our water supply.”

He’s proud of the role Strata as a local firm, just down the road from Waiaroha played, especially with many challenges along the way such as COVID and a cyclone.

The project had a lot of challenges along the journey and I am proud of the way our team worked with the client, other consultants and Gemco to make sure that we stuck to the brief and made sure that we stayed abreast of all of the moving parts to make sure that the structure was fully integrated with the overall design and inputs by others.

Duncan says his favourite feature of the discovery facility is the glulam structural timber portal frames that Strata designed alongside Timberlab.

“They’re a real feature of the building, as are the steel support frames to the magnificent carvings and perforated sheet metal panels over the entrance.”