The Hutt Valley Health Hub is a $35 million project designed to withstand a one-in-2500-year seismic event and had opened last month. It was built on the former site of the Naenae Bowling Club, next to Hutt Hospital. As experts in bespoke timber solutions, covering everything from louvres to high end furniture and everything in between, and super passionate about wood, Craftbuilt was invited to be one of the partners involved in this amazing and important project, it was a great privilege working with the developers and architects ! We were responsible for the construction and installation of the building’s 2.5 tonne glulam staircase.Entirely bespoke, and designed to work with this very particular building, this was a momentous build with beautifully handcrafted detailing. The treads were crafted from American Oak for stability, with anti-slip bars inserted, while the detailed curvature of the American Oak handrails creates a synergy of form and material, along with 10mm negative detailing between the stair treads and glulam sides.It took over 1000 hours to construct from start to finish: Phase 1 – Construction and pre-assembly in the factoryCraftbuilts’ owner Simon Raikes says that “initially, building the entire structure from glulam was considered but that became restrictive simply because of the weight of it and logistics in our workshop, The solution was using 3×2 pine for the frame and cladding it with 12mm ply as a structural bracing element then overlaying it with 15mm thick glulam panels.”Phase 2 – TransportationThe staircase was completely assembled up to full height in our workshop then disassembled into 6 sections and transported to site via trucks and trailers.Phase 3 – InstallationSections of the stairs were lifted inside with the help of a digger and small tracked crane, through narrow doors with only 50mm to spare each side, They were wheeled into position on trolleys and then craned into place with much sweat and smiles.The staircase leads up one storey from the building’s main lobby, with a double-height window behind it. In order to meet the requirements for the IL4 building, the staircase needed to be seismically independent from the adjacent walls.It was a very detailed work made by our professional team.Final resultsWe couldn´t be more proud to be part of the entire process.Our relationship with our clients begins on the first day of contact and continues on through leaving them fully satisfied with our workmanship.To photograph the whole project in one screen shot was not easy due to the geometry of the staircase, however the results speaks for themselves.Our passion for building great and grand staircases and woodworking projects grows stronger everyday, We like to understand our clients visions and dreams and work with them to achieve it.Challenge us with your next project !
