The objective.

City Gallery Wellington (Te Whare Toi), located within the Te Ngākau Civic Precinct, was designated earthquake-prone in 2024 with a published seismic rating of approximately 20% NBS.

The objective of the project was to strengthen the building’s internal masonry wall systems and improve its seismic performance in order to help secure the long-term safety and resilience of this important civic and cultural facility.

Strengthening a high-profile public building within Wellington’s central city required careful coordination and the precise integration of new structural elements within the existing building.

Our involvement.

Petone Engineering was engaged by Naylor Love to fabricate and install the structural steel required to support the seismic strengthening of the Gallery’s internal masonry walls.

While the overall steel tonnage was modest at 12 tonnes, the project involved approximately 1,700 hours of work, reflecting the detailed and technical nature of the installation. Working within an existing building meant carefully sequencing the works, integrating new steel with existing structural elements, and carrying out installation within constrained internal spaces.

Our team worked closely with the wider project team to programme steel installation as part of the overall strengthening sequence, ensuring safe access, maintaining stability throughout the works, and enabling efficient integration of the new steel into the building.

The outcome.

The strengthening works play an important role in lifting City Gallery Wellington above the earthquake-prone threshold and improving the resilience of one of Wellington’s key civic buildings.

Delivered in conjunction with Naylor Love and the wider project team, this project demonstrates Petone Engineering’s ability to deliver precise structural steel strengthening within complex existing buildings, helping protect important public infrastructure for the future.