Site cleared now piling under way for Whangārei's Hundertwasser building

The cleared site of the former Northland Harbour Board building with machinery ready top put in 75 steel piles up to 33 metres into the ground. Photo / Michael Cunningham.

The former Northland Harbour Board building has been cleared off the site and the first of the massive piles needed for Whangārei's Hundertwasser Art Centre are being hammered into the ground.

Deconstruction work on the site of the new Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery has been completed and all materials able to be recycled for use in the future build have been successfully removed.

HAC community co-ordinator Andrew Garratt, who has been leading the volunteer effort to reclaim the recycled materials, said the deconstruction process of the Town Basin building had yielded a good array of bricks, timber and other items such as doors, lights and brass fittings that can be reused.

A digger helps demolish the former Northland Harbour Board building at Whangārei Town Basin for the Hundertwasser project. Photo / Michael Cunningham

"We have spent about 250 volunteer hours cleaning up around 4200 bricks and de-nailing hundreds of metres of native timber, all of which will go into the new Arts Centre in-line with Hundertwasser's philosophy on recycling materials," Garrett said.

Around 5000 pavers were also saved from the grounds. As many as 16,000 bricks would be needed in the construction of the new HAC.

Whangārei Art Museum Trust Chairman Grant Faber said the next phase of the build would be laying foundations. This would require driving 75 steel piles up to 33 metres into the ground and a pile driver is at the site now.

"The ground under the HAC site is made of loose and variable material like sand, gravel and rocks - this is why we need to use the types of piles we're using and go down as deep as we are," Faber said.

"The process will be noisy and create strong vibrations when the piles are being driven in. We're working closely with our nearest neighbours around the site, to keep them informed of what is happening. We're hoping the process will be completed in under 30 days."

He said the vibrations could be strong enough to unsettle loose objects from shelves but would not travel further than 25 metres from the pile being worked on.

HAC team members will be on-site to assess any impacts on local businesses, liaise with owners and operators and report back to the construction crew.

Faber said creating piles using this methodology was the least disruptive and safest option available given the weight of the building being constructed. Once completed, the HAC will have the largest living roof in the Southern Hemisphere.

He said there are no concerns the vibrations would damage any buildings or cause any lasting issues and the contractors would ensure they operate in a way that both minimises disruption and maintains a safe environment.