City tower reduced to rubble
Concrete crumbled and steel groaned as demolition began on Wellington’s George Porter Tower.
A team of 30 has been at work on the corner of Arlington and Hopper streets since May, stripping the building, removing asbestos, and preparing for hard demolition.
Managing director of Quality Demolitions Shane Gray said the building, designed by architect Sir Ian Athfield, and built in 1978, was past its best before date.
The top floors had to be removed by hand, and then the long-reach digger took over.
Hard demolition – the smashing and crashing with heavy machinery – began on Friday. Gray expected the main building to be down within a week, and then work would begin on removing the smaller units at the edge of the site, before the rubble was removed by truck. The site would be clear in about a month.
The 10-storey building was a social housing complex operated by Wellington City Council.
The cylindrical lift shaft was even taller, according to Gray, reaching 14 storeys at its full height.
The council confirmed the demolition in late 2019, part of a major upgrade for the Arlington social housing complex, the existing part of which is right across the road from the demolition.
Current residents of the complex watched from the roadside or their balconies as the rubble flew.
Another person, who lived about a kilometre away, said the demolition had begun at around 7.30am on Saturday, and the noise carried up the valley.
The demolition had attracted controversy. Prominent names in local architecture protested, calling for it to be preserved as a building of historical significance, and as an example of Athfield’s Brutalist phase.
But it was over-run with maintenance issues, most importantly the need for earthquake strengthening.
Kainga Ora, the agency carrying out the demolition and site upgrade on a long-term lease from the council, said the new plan would be beneficial for the community.
The plan, which includes a combination of low and medium-rise buildings, would do away with the isolation caused by high-rise apartments.
It would include a mix of public and affordable housing, with 300 homes, including 40 units dedicated to supported living. Completion was due in 2023.