Local construction industry boosted with new Napier Port building

Work has begun on a multi-million dollar construction project for Napier Port that will see more than 40 people employed during its build.

Alexander Construction won the contract to design and build the Port Central Building (PCB), an administrative and operational hub for Napier Port.  The 1200m² building will be located on the site formerly used for container  stacking and will house the   management, operations  and administration staff with offices, a cafeteria, lockers and meeting rooms.  Three existing separate buildings will be demolished once PCB has been completed.

Leading the project is Alexander Construction CEO Mark Hamilton.

“PCB is one of the larger design and build projects our company has been involved with in recent years.  Combining the design and build functions is an approach that is gaining momentum in the construction industry and we are pleased to be at the forefront of that movement.  It gives us the flexibility to work with design consultants who share the same vision as we do for our client,” says Mr Hamilton.

Respected Napier based Paris Magdalinos Architects (PMA) and local structural engineers Structural Concepts have joined Alexander Construction on the project. 

PMA’s project architect Chris Ainsworth’s design for the PCB building draws inspiration from its maritime surroundings and references elements from lighthouses, containers and breakwater walls.

“It was integral to the project that the building has personality and character.  The Port is   the key infrastructure facility in our region.  Napier Port is a significant business that needs a significant presence.  The building had to be more than a simple box – there needed to be synergy between function and form.  It’s a stunning design,” says Mr Hamilton.

Safety was a concern for the on-going use of current buildings, which are only accessible by driving through the working Port.

“The PCB will have a dedicated entrance, allowing visitors to directly access the building without the need to drive past machinery in a busy working port environment.”

Mr Hamilton expects Napier Port staff to be in their new building in early 2015.  The existing gate house will not be decommissioned, but transformed into a gymnasium, connected to the new structure by a footbridge.

Napier Port’s PCB is one of Alexander Construction’s growing portfolio of projects currently under construction.  The company has a crew in the Chatham Islands working on a fire station redevelopment, along with its usual workload of large scale commercial and education projects in Hawke’s Bay.  Alexander Construction’s ‘Hometeam’ department is also experiencing growth, specialising in smaller, residential projects.

ENDS

For more information please contact Mark Hamilton, CEO Alexander Construction, phone (06) 843 9626.