Dunedin Railway Station restoration wins national award

The Dunedin Railway Station's restoration team has scooped a national award tonight.

It was named the winner in the heritage category at the New Zealand Architecture National Awards, which recognise the best in New Zealand architecture.

The project team, which combined the Dunedin City Council and Salmond Reed Architects, had been short-listed from the Southern Architecture Awards.

Dunedin City Council group manager property services Anna Nilsen said she and the team were delighted.

“I am thrilled to have the restoration of our city’s most iconic building be recognised so widely, and to have been part of such a fabulous team,” Ms Nilsen says.

“The combined work of an amazingly talented team of contractors is what contributed to this restoration project’s success.”

Deputy Mayor Cherry Lucas also congratulated everyone involved in the project.

“This is a great example of the value we place in our city’s heritage, which takes many forms, and also the partnerships we have with our wonderful contractors and artisans, who all worked together to deliver a fantastic result for Ōtepoti Dunedin.

“This amazing restoration of our beautiful Railway Station will ensure this iconic Dunedin building stands the test of time and is there for future generations to treasure, just as we do now.

“Tonight’s award is also a fantastic achievement and everyone involved should be rightly proud of their efforts.”

It is the latest recognition for the project team. As well as placing in the New Zealand Architecture National Awards and Southern Architecture Awards earlier this year, the restoration project was a joint winner of the Judges Choice Award alongside the University of Otago Te Rangihiroa Team at the Property Council New Zealand, Property People Awards.

The Dunedin Railway Station restoration project team also earned national recognition by the Registered Master Buildings Association when it took away two awards in the Commercial Project Awards. The team was recognised as a National Category Winner with a Heritage and a Gold Award.

The three-year project at the Dunedin Railway Station involved repairs and restoration of the prominent Historic Place Category 1 building’s exterior.

Work involved the removal, cleaning and refitting of the characteristic red Marseille roof tiles to the main elevation roofslopes (supplemented by new matching tiles to the rear roofs), new lead gutter linings and copper cladding to the prominent dome roofs, stonework repairs and cleaning, timber joinery repairs and repainting, and dismantling, repair and reassembly of the original cast iron downpipes.

- APL