Recognise this ataahua building? The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa opened 25 years ago on 14 February 1998 in the heart of Wellington. It soon became a landmark in Aotearoa, housing our national art collection and millions of taonga.

Te Papa is a major piece of civic infrastructure that has a special place in our hearts. Engaged in 1991 to provide cost management/quantity surveying services, RDT Pacific’s role was extended to include involvement in planning and managing the exhibition fit-out programme.

Te Papa broke new ground in New Zealand’s museum experience, including interactive exhibitions, which required a corresponding technological response.

This is a building with impressive engineering.

It was planned with a 200-year design life even though it is located over a major fault line in a corrosive marine environment. To dampen the shakes, ingenious base isolators made from a rubber and steel sandwich with a core of lead isolate the building, and its complex and durable cladding protects the exterior from wind and salt spray.

Following three years of brief development, design and tendering, the build took four years to complete with its 36,000 square metres of public floor space, the size of three rugby fields. Te Papa weighs 64,000 tonnes and has 80,000 cubic metres of concrete and enough reinforcing steel to stretch from Wellington to Sydney.

RDT Pacific Director, David Prentice worked on the project at the time, alongside current RDT Pacific Director, Gordon Hassett and Associate Director, Mike Hanson.

“Te Papa was completed on time and within budget. This is a major achievement for a high-profile public sector project,” David says.

“This success was even more conspicuous owing to the absence of any significant claims. This was due partly to RDT Pacific applying our Value Management and Partnering facilitation services, a first for a major project in New Zealand.”

This is just one of the projects and the people we are celebrating in 2023, a significant year for RDT Pacific. We’re celebrating 80 years of being in business. That’s 80 years of big moments of mahi, creating solutions and maximising property assets to create landmark projects and build a wide and enduring community.

It is a privilege to do what we do, we love our work and we thank everyone and every project that has helped develop and grow our legacy.

Image: Te Papa opening, 1998. Photo by Michael Hall. Te Papa