22nd May 2020
The end of this week saw level 1 poured, the ground floor drainage approved, the ground floor being backfilled and compacted, and scaffolding start to go up on the North Eastern side of the building!
July 2021 - Structure takes shape!
The last level 3 slab pour area, pre-pour!
Monark from a distance! The tower crane is holding up a panel up whilst the props are connected to take over and hold it up.
ON THE GROUND AT ARO LIVING
March 2023 - Stage 1 Practical Completion!
We are very pleased to have reached a significant milestone at Aro Living this month, having achieved Practical Completion for Stage 1, and being able to welcome 11 new owners to the neighbourhood. With the garden beds now established by the front entries, and our hoardings completely removed from this elevation, the streetscape is looking sharp - a very positive change for Victoria Street.
Our focus is now very much on the remaining 50 units, with a huge push on Stage 2 interior works; and Stage 3 facade works. Our final roofing sheet was laid last month and the development as a whole has really taken shape. The steady progression of the metal, timber, and aluminium cladding can be seen from all street frontages.
Stage 2 interior works are well underway, with kitchens, timber flooring, and painting being the main focus for the first 14 units; and gib-lining, door installation, and gib-stopping the main focus for the other 16 units. Lessons, tips, and tricks from our work on Stage 1 have helped to make for smooth sailing on these units, and we are very pleased with the progress. Over the coming weeks we will also be kicking off our site works and paving in Stage 2, bringing the laneways to life.
Over at Stage 3, the envelope carpentry and facade work is our main focus, preparing for windows to be installed to the first 10 units; and kicking off 1st fix services and interal framing. We are looking forward to completing the Weatherline installation on the final 10 units.
With over 110 people working hard on site every day and tackling an enormous workload, we are seeing fantastic progress across all our work faces, and a lot of teamwork and cooperation from everyone as we navigate the tight site and working within the individual units.
October 2022 - The Facade Emerges!
It’s been all heads down and tails up at Aro Living with a whole lot of progress happening across site over the last few months. With between 80-100 people on site daily we are bustling with activity – and are thrilled to finally see a bit of sun after a record-breaking winter of wind and rain.
Stage 1 (11 townhouses) has been a huge focus for us over the last few months, with a big push as we aim to get this complete by the end of the year. This month we have started to dismantle the scaffold on Victoria Street, unveiling the distinctive 4 colours of the standing-seam metal cladding, steel balustrades, feature nu-wall aluminium panels, board-finished pre-cast panels, and the Nordic Pine weatherboards.
Inside, the fit-out works are racing along and the interior features are really starting to take shape. Kitchens are being installed, bathrooms are being tiled, walls and ceilings are being painted, and the flooring is due to kick off next week. Every little design detail is being undertaken with a lot of care, from the feature plywood panelling and exposed CLT ceilings, to the in-built bathroom mirror cabinets and custom letterboxes.
Stage 2 (30 townhouses) is humming along, with the structure 100% complete and the final roofing panels about to be laid. Next month will see the exterior cladding advancing rapidly, with windows, metal cladding and timber weatherboards all set to go. Internally, timber framing, steel stud partitioning, and first-fix building services are progressing well – picking up on all the tips and tricks learnt from our work on Stage 1.
Over on Stage 3 (20 townhouses), foundations, under-slab services, concrete slabs and CLT floors are all underway and we are well on track to complete the structure by Christmas – and will be ready to say goodbye to our trusty crane!
At the end of this month, we will celebrate a very important project milestone – the installation of the final pre-cast panel – panel number 284! Our fantastic panel team and crane crew have been working tirelessly on these panels for nearly 12 months, fine-tuning a now seamless operation and working in increasingly tight conditions. A big thank you to Emmetts Civil Construction in Whanganui, who have manufactured and delivered over 2500 tonnes of pre-cast panel to us over the last year; and Patton Engineering, who have supplied and installed the steelwork between the panels to form the primary structure of each townhouse.
A few more numbers to date, as we head toward the end of our structural phase:
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180 tonnes of reinforcing steel fixed
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1300m3 of concrete poured and placed
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100 flights of CLT ‘air stairs’ installed
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205 CLT floor panels installed
The pressure is certainly on as we tackle the many different workfaces of this unique and challenging project, with each and every person on site making great progress every day. It is pretty clear to see the huge difference a few months have made, as the entire development takes shape and heads towards the countdown to completion!!
April 2022 - Elevations taking shape!
April has seen the Victoria Street and Laneway elevations of Stage 1 take shape, with our carpentry crews busy with timber framing and Weatherline RAB. Though we have been hit hard with a surge of covid-related delays and absences over the past 6 weeks, we have started to pick our numbers back up now, and are focussing on progressing the building envelope. Our first Conqueror roofing panel was installed last week, and we are looking forward to reaching our roof completion milestone next month.
Over at Stage 2b, the structure is progressing well, with foundation beams complete, and new slabs being poured every few days. We were happy to kick-off the panel installation of Stage 2c this month - on the 30th April, we installed our 100th panel! 184 left to go.
Stay tuned for next month, with the arrival of our aluminium windows at Stage 1, commencement of interior framing, and the start of our timber weatherboards and decks, and metal cladding!
February/March 2022 - Focus on Structure!
It has been a very busy 2 months at Aro Living, with a big push to complete the main building structure of Stage 1. The installation of the cross-laminated timber floors and 'air-stairs' has been particularly exciting, with 57 floor panels lifted by crane and fitted in place, and 28 flights of stairs installed.
Over at Stage 2b, we have been equally busy - all pre-cast panels are now installed, and foundation beams and underslab services are well underway. Next month will see the ground floor slabs and Level 1 slabs placed, and the CLT floors to follow very shortly after.
January 2022 - Stage 1 Precast Installation Complete!
The full team is back on board and ready to keep charging forward.
We will be reaching a key milestone at the end of the week, with the final pre-cast panel for Stage 1 installed.
Ploughing ahead, we are excited to have received our first delivery of CLT flooring panels last week, from the Xlam factory in NSW, Australia. CLT is a cross-laminated timber slab which fixes into the structural steel and forms the lightweight Level 2 + 3 floors. Look out for these to start being installed next month.
December 2021 - Precast Panels for Christmas!
December has been our busiest month yet!
Precast panel and structural steel installation has progressed well, with 45 precast panels installed before Christmas and the buildings really starting to take shape. The ‘clamping beams’ which tie the pre-cast panels together are following in closely behind the panel installation, and underslab services are set to start shortly.
Behind the scenes we are busy placing orders for building materials for the upcoming months and finalising the shop/production drawings for windows, doors, and joinery, and the next 2 stages of pre-cast and structural steel.
Merry Christmas from the Aro Living team!
November 2021 - Our Crane Arrives!
There has been a lot of excitement on site this month with the arrival of Titan's Liebherr LR1250 250 tonne crawler crane. The components arrived in 5 large truckloads, and with the assistance of a smaller crane and a super organised crane crew, it was up and running within 2 days. With a 38m main boom and a 14m fly jib, this is a pretty impressive machine! We are looking forward to watching it work hard over the next few months.
We have also reached another important milestone, with the arrival and installation of our very first pre-cast panel on the 22nd. We were lucky to have good weather and no wind for this task on the day - fingers crossed for more of these nice days! This panel is 12.3m high by 2.8m wide - weighing in at approx. 13 tonne. Panels will be arriving on site in a steady stream form now until the end of April, and form the walls of each townhouse - one panel up, 284 to go!
September 2021 - Farewell Mechanics Workshop
The last remaining structure on this site was demolished at the beginning of September, as soon as we had the go-ahead to return to site following the AL4 Covid Lockdown. This was a great milestone for us and has cleared the way for excavation to continue across the Eastern end of the site.
August 2021 - Our First Concrete Pour
Our first concrete pour was carried out on 12th August, setting up the concrete strips that the pre-cast panels will be placed on the for the first 11 townhouses. Good weather, 10x concrete mixers, 1x pump truck and a great team made this a successful morning's work.
July 2021 - Earthworks
Excavation and trenching across Stage 1 of the development is progressing well, with a dig-out of around 1-1.5m to get this area to the finished levels. In-ground stormwater and wastewater networks are being laid, with domestic water pipework and electrical ducting soon to follow.
June 2021 - Ground Breaking!
We were pleased to get the ball rolling on 8th June 2021 with a sod-turning ceremony led by Taranaki Whanui and The Wellington Company, and attended by the Aoraki team, lead designers Architecture Plus, and other key stakeholders such as local Members of Parliament, and Wellington City Councillors, .And a special mention to Advanced Siteworks Ltd, whose 20T excavator features in the photos below!
Everyone was super excited to be a part of this blessing, and to see a fantastic new housing development get off the ground.
Full steam ahead!
