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Concrete crumbled and steel groaned as the demolition of Wellington’s George Porter Tower began.
A 30-person team has been working on the corner of Arlington and Hopper streets since May, dismantling the building, removing the asbestos and preparing for a tough demolition.
Quality Demolitions Managing Director Shane Gray said the building, designed by well-known architect Sir Ian Athfield, and built in 1978, had passed its previous best date.
“It is a soft building that is falling apart.”
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Ross Giblin / Stuff
The George Porter Building on Hopper St undergoes demolition to make room for the next phase of a public housing complex.
The top pair of floors had to be removed by hand, and then the long-reach excavator took over, spraying water from the end to reduce dust.
The hard demolition, crushing and collisions with heavy machinery, began on Friday, and were in the middle of the building by noon on Saturday.
Gray expected the main building to collapse in a week, and then work would begin to remove the smaller units at the edge of the site and then remove the debris by truck, with the site cleared in about a month.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
The building’s top two floors were removed by hand and then the long-reach excavator took over, spraying water from the end to reduce dust.
Completed in 1978, the building was a 10-story high social housing complex operated by the Wellington City Council.
The cylindrical elevator shaft was even taller, according to Gray, reaching 14 stories at its maximum height.
The council confirmed the demolition in late 2019, as part of a major upgrade to the Arlington social housing complex, the existing portion of which is right across the street from the demolition.
Current residents of the complex watched from the road or from their balconies as debris flew.
Kevin Stent / Stuff
Prominent names in local architecture protested for the building to be preserved for its historical significance and as an example of Athfield’s brutalist phase.
Another neighbor, who lived a kilometer away, said the noise from the demolition had started around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, and was clearly spreading across the valley.
The demolition had generated controversy, with prominent names in the local architecture protesting that it be preserved as a building of historical importance and as an example of Athfield’s brutalist phase.
But it was plagued with maintenance problems, especially the need to reinforce the earthquake.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
The hard demolition work began on Friday morning, and by Saturday noon, about half the building is gone.
Kainga Ora, the agency that carries out the site’s demolition and improvement under a long-term lease from the council, said the new plan will be beneficial to the community.
The plan, which includes a mix of low-rise and mid-rise buildings, would eliminate the insulation caused by high-rise apartments.
It would include a mix of public and affordable housing, with 105 units providing space for 324 residents and up to 40 units dedicated to supported living.
The project is part of the council’s 20-year, $ 400 million project to upgrade Wellington’s 2000 social housing units, to be completed in 2043.
