Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute refit

The Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute (BGI) is a youth development organisation that works with vulnerable young people to help end the poverty cycle and work towards a better future, and they needed more space to accommodate more members and programmes.

Our seven-month project was to complete an internal refit of their premises in Macdonald Crescent, including office space and a kitchen, a mezzanine hangout for the kids, associated external works required for an exterior facelift, and a new entry, decks, skylights and lift.

BGI had big ideas for their new space but limited funds, so our Wellington team pulled out all the stops to conduct value engineering and review methodologies to bring the project in on budget without compromising on the high-quality finishes.

The tight deadline was achieved with meticulous planning, with works to tenanted areas of the building mainly conducted at night – and with a preschool occupying the lower level of the building, absolute silence during the ‘sleep time’ between midday and 3pm was strictly observed! Other challenges, both anticipated and not, were accommodated with creative problem solving, collaboration and sheer hard work.

The finished space, complete with a beautiful hand-carved totara poutokomanawa (pou), is a light-filled, high-spec and comfortable base for BGI’s valuable work with young people and their families.