Demolishing an Infamous Eyesore: The Fall of Education House in New Plymouth
Cunningham’s had the privilege of assisting in the demolition of a historical New Plymouth building, infamous for all the wrong reasons. The first thing you see as you approach New Plymouth, this notorious structure underwent a demolition campaign led by Nikau Contractors Ltd. Although CCL arrived late to the party, the urgency to swiftly move through the design phase and deploy a team to execute the work was paramount.
Education House has long been regarded as one of New Plymouth’s biggest eyesores. Built for the Perry Dines Corporation in 1984-85, it was land banked in 1997 and had sat empty since 2011 due to being identified as earthquake-prone. Its removal was a long-anticipated event for many residents.
To ensure the project was completed safely and efficiently, CCL engaged help from our Kiwi/Aussie friends at Layhtrain. Their assistance was invaluable, and we extend a big thanks to the team for their hard work and expertise.
Given the building’s prominent location on a state highway, additional safety measures were necessary. These included a pedestrian gantry and full-time, around-the-clock spotters for traffic management. The demolition itself was a delicate operation due to the building’s position at the corner of two arterial routes. A scaffold was essentially built to contain and manage the demolition, with the structure coming down in unison with the building. Two sides (the road fronts on Eliot and Courtenay Streets) were shrink-wrapped, while scrim was used for the other two.
Overall, it was a good little project with many eyes watching its progress. The successful demolition of Education House marks a new chapter for New Plymouth, free from the shadow of this once-infamous structure.
