Sky high spy keeps tabs on stadium progress

Aug 24th, 2010 | By Samantha Ives | Category: Front Page Layout, Latest News, News

EYE ON PROGRESS: The new Kilbirnie indoor sports stadium, viewed from the 'spy' tower over the road.

A CAMERA installed on the neighbouring fire training tower is keeping an eye on the construction of the Wellington indoor community sports centre.

Architects of the new sports centre on Rongotai Dr, Tennent and Brown, have installed an interactive time lapse camera on the  tower at the adjacent fire training centre in Kilbirnie.

It means the public can watch the building going up.

Tennent and Brown architect Ewan Brown saw time lapse cameras on overseas projects and decided to give it a go.

“It’s a really good tool for clients and we will apply it more and more to our projects,” says Mr Brown.

“It’s proved to be quite successful and my team and others can keep an eye on the project.”

At completion, Mr Brown wants to create a video of the project from start to finish.

The camera was installed with the help of fire officers using a bronto sky lift, a specialist fire vehicle with an extending ladder and boom.

Senior fire trainer Roger White says the tower is a wind tunnel and can create a vortex, so the camera has to be firmly secured to stop it blowing away in windy Wellington.

The sports centre is being constructed by Mainzeal and you can keep tabs on the project by viewing HERE>

Mainzeal says the weather has been a factor in construction, with many days of heavy rain slowing progress, although the project is still on target to be completed by August next year.

The estimated cost of the 10,500 square metres indoor sports centre is $47 million.

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