Murals being added to Te Takere

Colour is coming to Te Takere with the painters busy doing the last touches to the air conditioning pipes and the start of the murals by Wendy Hodder.  The murals are appearing on the Northern and Southern walls.  Wendy says it has been quite exciting going up in the painter's scissor hoist to work on the murals. 

   

 Now that the waka panels are in place manouvering between them can be quite a challenge for the scissor hoist operators.






 

The Southern wall showing the murals with the future doors into the current library.  The predominant colours so far include beautiful shades of teal.

Piles of tiles waiting for the tiler to be work within the next couple of weeks on the flooring stage of the project.

 

Windows in Te Takere

What a sight seeing the Waka panels standing in a gentle curve leading into the centre of Te Takere.  The spaces are now more clearly defined.  Excitment is building as we look at where everything will fit in.  The returns area at the mall side of the new space is taking form and the wall has been painted.  Work installing the air conditioning ducts continues. 

Work on what will be the Chinese garden area outside has begun with concrete removed, however the actual garden can't be put in till work on the outside walls is completed.  What an amazing space it will be to relax and enjoy on a sunny day.

The top windows are now in place with the frames set in for the ones at the bottom front.  The idea is now to get the building fully enclosed before the weather really packs up. The plan for the next couple of weeks is to work across from one side to the other finishing of any woodwork needed so the flooring work can begin.

It's all taking shape so fast!

I missed a visit to Te Takere last week so this week it was exciting to see the framework for that first Waka panel in situ.  They told me it was big - it is - and the other  frames are laid out on the floor in position waiting to be bolted upright so we could imagine how beautiful the curved line of panels is going to look.

The panels for the opposite side are lying down on their sides at the other side of what will become the large open centre space.  Now we can get a feel for just how spacious that area is going to be.  Wow!

The framing for the new returns room is up and it too has a lovely curved wall.  So much nicer than straight lines.  Probably a bit of a pain for the builders but I'm sure the end result will be worth it.

The painting and decorating is well under way with much of the plasterwork being done.  The firewall next to the mall has been painted as have all of the high steel trusses.

First Waka Panel being installed

The first Waka panel is taking shape and is bigger than expected!  Larissa kindly posed beside it so you can get an idea of scale.  They will look dramatic when all of the panels are in place.






  

Progress in the new space is steady with the new sliding door panels being fitted on the rooms at the back.

     

    
                                   Walls in the rooms are being covered, plastered and painted.

 The whole complex is taking on a light airy feel.

 Ceilings in the rooms are being fitted and work continuing in wiring.









                               Outside work on the veranda for the sails progresses steadily.
 

Can you imagine?

Now that the lovely curved staircase is in place it is easier to imagine a beautiful woman in evening wear sweeping down to a ball room.   I hope that we can have such events in Te Takere once it is open as the wide open space in the centre will make a fabulous dance floor.  Beth didn't quite fit the bill in her high vis vest and hard hat but I'm sure you get the picture!




Painters are still very busy coating the metal beams with fresh white paint.


The last of the wall cladding is being fixed.  As ever I am impressed with the tidy work practices being employed.  All of the potentially hazardous material that could be left lying about is being removed as soon as it can be so that there are clear safe spaces for people to work.  Having grown up with a builder for a Dad I know this was not the case on all building sites!

One more ramp just next to the new lift shaft on the ground floor is about to be concreted so that it will be easy for us to transport trolley loads of books or people in wheel chairs from one floor to another.

Framing is being installed to support the suspended ceiling in the storeroom.  There is still so much to do and much of it will be invisible once the building has been completed but steady progress is being made.

Beth couldn't resist ducking in to the cupboard under the stairs and pretending she was Harry Potter.  The design of the building means that every bit of possible storage space has been claimed - we are really looking forward to having places to put things so that we no longer have desks with boxes stacked under and around them!  There won't be much room for poor Harry in the cupboard.

Painters working hard

Not so many scissor lifts in evidence today - most of the high stuff seems to be in place.  Today there were painters up high painting the air conditioning ducts white.  I am so pleased that we are avoiding 'industrial chic' by disguising the elements of the building that are less than beautiful!  I was never a fan of exposed steel beams and ducting so it's great to see ours fading into the high ceiling.




With most of the wall cladding up and the Potter system wall framing it's all looking great.

I can't wait to see the new staircase in place.  It is going to look fantastic.  This shot was taken from up on the mezzanine looking down to where it is lying on the floor next to the temporary stairwell.  You can see how the bottom section will flare out wider at the beginning.  I can just imaging the Miss Horowhenua contestants parading  beautifully down the stairs.
Or how about a wedding in Te Takere?  The imagination runs wild!




For a busy building site the whole area is remarkably clean.  Most of the building debris is cleaned up along the way and the floors are constantly swept of concrete dust.   Looking really good!

Oh the space!

The colleague who came with me was blown away by the space.   She hadn't been inside the building since work commenced.  It's really hard to visualise just where everything will be when you are looking at a floor plan.  Now, like the rest of us, she is excited about the prospect of moving in.





The lift shaft is just about complete, the ceiling is up and the walls are clad.

The framing for the glass walls of the meeting rooms is being installed. For those of you with a technical bent the window walls are being fixed using the Potter system.   More info is available at http://www.potters.co.nz/   This means the meeting rooms will all have a lot of natural light and although people will be able to see inside they will still be private conversation spaces.

The verandah has almost been covered in and you can see the eye bolts that the shade banners will be fixed to.  One of our borrowers commented last week that the poles make the front of the building look like the United Nations.  I like to think that  a United Levin will be using this fantastic facility before too long.
(It isn't really leaning over - that 's just the effect you get when you try to take long shots on a small camera!)

The space at the Bath Street end of the building has been cleared to make way for a beautiful Chinese garden which is being sponsored by our very generous Chinese community.  It will be accessible only from inside the library with no access from the footpath so children will be safe from traffic.

Just imagine sitting out there with a coffee and a book on a lovely  afternoon, or even in the early evening in summer.  I look forward to the transformation from building site to garden.