Cromwell Primary Multi-Purpose Hall

The project team, Ministry of Education and school collectively overcame many challenges throughout the 18-month construction period including unforeseen site conditions, funding challenges from multiple sources and stakeholder management plus COVID-19. However, the project was delivered on time allowing the school to move into their exceptional new facilities at the start of Term 1, 2022.

The vision for the project was to honour the previous principal to whom the buildings were dedicated, integrate the buildings fully into the school grounds, and, most importantly, provide exceptional community facilities for the benefit of the students and local families in a small-town void of a public sports hall facility.

The buildings have incorporated sustainable features including timber cladding and interior strand board panels, and smart lighting and warm roof construction to overcome the challenges of lining in a cold rolled steel structure.

The constrained nature of the construction site, being in the centre of a fully operational primary school with more than 500 students, and 5 other construction projects being undertaken concurrently presented many challenges to school and contractor safety. These were overcome through careful site interface planning and an ongoing focus to carry out higher-risk work outside of school hours or providing clear and robust separation of work/school zones.