Gallery made safe from quake

Chris Saines, director, shows off the refurbished Auckland Art Gallery. Photo / Natalie Slade

Auckland Art Gallery's $121 million refurbishment and extensions were unveiled in a limited tour this week where earthquake-strengthening aspects of the project were emphasised.

Grant Thomas, project manager and engineer for Hawkins Construction, said seismic strengthening of historic structures was one of the most challenging but important aspects.

"Discrete strengthening is underfloor, where a rigid diaphragm has been built which ties the walls together so it stops the floors collapsing and the walls coming down. Rest assured, this is a very safe place to be in an earthquake," Thomas said.

Hamish Keith, art commentator, liked the refurbished galleries' size.
"What this does is allow the gallery to exploit its collections.
"One of the problems has been in the last 50 years that galleries tend to be driven by exhibitions, but here we're turning to the basics. We have fortunately gone through that period, which was very bad, where galleries were seen as a place for family fun.
"Galleries were always places where we connect with our cultural memory," Keith said.

Chris Saines, gallery director, said Julian Robertson's valuable 15-piece art collection would be on show for eight weeks from September 3, when the gallery reopened.