The Whenuapai School Senior Campus belies its beginnings as a very complex project on a challenging greenfield site. This fast-track project is a success story for all involved.

The Ministry of Education engaged RDT Pacific as the Project Manager and Engineer to the Contract for the construction of the Trig Road campus on a greenfield site adjacent to Whenuapai School.

Despite the challenges of this project, RDT Pacific supported the successful delivery from inception to completion in ten months and within budget during New Zealand’s wettest summer on record. Whenuapai School Senior Campus is one of the Ministry of Education’s fastest greenfield developments to date.

Anticipated project complexities involved:

• A strategic, fast track consenting regime
• Poor ground conditions and winter earthworks
• Extensive stakeholder management and communications
• A crossover of civil and vertical contractors
• An extension of public services and extensive civil works
• A tight delivery deadline

 

The RDT Pacific Project Management team yielded exceptional results working in collaboration with Inspira (Design and Project Management).

To fast track the complex consenting required, the project was split into 15 resource and building consents to achieve the short programme. Excellent working relationships, and good communication with Whenuapai School and across the wider project team were at the heart of this project’s success.

The Whenuapai Senior Campus is a culturally responsive, learning environment enjoyed by the school and its community.

The project was developed in two stages.

Stage 1 – RDT Pacific managed civil construction with Dempsey Wood and worked with Inspira to:

• Widen the public road (EPA works)
• Enable infrastructure services – fibre, power, water supply and wastewater
• Develop internal roading, parking, all-weather turf courts, sports field, playground and caretakers’ facilities
• Enhance the health of the existing natural wetland with restorative planting.

 

Stage 2 – the build consisted of:

• Eight teaching spaces plus multipurpose and resource spaces, admin, library and toilets.
• Relocation of existing modular buildings plus the construction of additional Offsite Manufactured Buildings (OMBs) requiring strategic access
• A ‘Satellite School Building’ comprising two teaching spaces, toilets, admin space, social hub, and an outdoor learning space.

 

RDT Pacific was engaged due to our extensive knowledge and experience in the Aotearoa New Zealand education sector.