Amalgamated Builders take two titles at NZ building awards

Media Release from Amalgamated Builders May 19 2014

Amalgamated Builders take out two titles at annual New Zealand commercial building awards

Leading South Island construction company Amalgamated Builders (ABL) is celebrating having taken out two titles at the second annual New Zealand Commercial Building Awards this weekend.

Announced at a gala dinner in Auckland, the awards were both for the companys outstanding work on the $2 million new SculptIllusion Gallery at the world-famous Puzzling World attraction in Wanaka.

ABL was Gold Award winner in the PlaceMakers Tourism and Leisure Project category, and also took out gold in the Under $2million category.

The 530sq m illusionary sculpture room, complete with moving, living walls, floating objects and 3D illusions, is the companys fifth and largest Illusion Room and was built over eight-and-a-half months by ABL.

The attraction features a number of larger-than-life commissioned sculptures utilizing visual trickery at its best, including a turned-on tap that seems to float in the air, benches that appear to have no stands, a cascading ceiling, columns that become people, a vertical garden and a unique collection of sculptures from local and national artists. Amalgamated Builders quantity surveyor for the project, Brett Squire, said he and the team were incredibly proud to win category awards for the second year running.

This personally ranks as one of my favourite projects in my eight years with the company, said Mr Squire.

Any building poses challenges but because of the Central Otago climate it required careful consideration throughout the planning and build process.

Aside from a very cold construction site, the ground froze which affected the logic of the build and the way we continued. So its great to now see the completed build and know we had a hand in building it.

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Amalgamated Builders take two titles at NZ building awards