Just after receiving a finalist award in the New Zealand Museum Awards, Raglan Museum is now in the line-up as the nation’s top commercial buildings battle it out for national awards.
More than 40 of the country’s top commercial buildings are vying for a place in the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards to be announced next month at a national gala event at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre on 11 May.
The new national whole of sector awards programme – which has evolved from the RMB Commercial Project Awards first launched in 2006 – aims to recognise New Zealand’s top commercial buildings and the teams behind them – from commercial contractors to their construction partners, including architects, engineers and property owners/developers.
Sponsored by industry heavyweights PlaceMakers, James Hardie, NALCO, GIB and Allied Concrete, the inaugural competition includes Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, as well as National Category wins and the Supreme Award. The categories in the awards are Restoration, Retail, Commercial and Civic, Industrial, Tourism and Leisure, Education, Health and Residential projects. There are also four value based categories ranging from projects under $2 million through to over $15 million.
Forty-two commercial projects have been entered from around the country, including projects from major centres such as Auckland’s Britomart, University Oval’s temporary lecture theatres in Christchurch, and Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr stadium. Regional properties in the running include Pitches Store in Ophir (Central Otago), the Monteiths Brewing Company in Greymouth, and the Raglan Museum and Information Centre.
Awards spokesperson Greg Pritchard says the awards has attracted an impressive line up of entries, especially given it is the event’s inaugural year.
“The volume and quality of entries shows the commercial construction sector is in good shape, not just in the metropolitan centres but throughout the provinces too.”
Mr Pritchard says the awards are set to become New Zealand’s leading commercial construction awards programme, celebrating and encouraging excellence in building and design practices across the sector.
The winners will be announced at an event at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre on 11 May.