Overview
Hill Labs is New Zealand’s largest privately owned and independent analytical laboratory.
In 2015, Hill Labs had four different sites in Hamilton with a 22% increase in headcount in five years. There was a demand for more space, plus the client wanted to create efficiencies by housing all departments under one roof.
Fosters was engaged in the early stages of project planning in a design and build arrangement. Fosters then worked with the client and KGL Property to convert the old NZ Post building in Frankton to a PC2 laboratory with highly specialised requirements.
About the project
The design of this project was heavily dictated by the flow of the samples through the building and services required for the laboratory functions. A large ceiling void was created to accommodate all the services, also providing flexibility for future expansion and changes which can occur in this type of facility. A cross laminated timber flooring system provides trafficable ceilings throughout large areas.
2017
7,000m2
$15M
The existing building had a post tensioned floor on timber piles. The challenge here was to install drainage to remove large volumes of water created by the labs. With no possibility of cutting up the existing floor slab, a raised floor system was installed through a portion of the building, approximately 800mm above the existing slab.
The building was extended from 5,500m2 to 7,000m2, which made it the biggest multi-discipline lab in New Zealand and one of the biggest laboratories in the Southern Hemisphere. Complex laboratory fitout works were also included in the build.
The project won a Gold Award in the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards (2018), in recognition of the project team’s collaborative management of the complex design and in the quality of finished product.
The project was handed over on time and on budget, future-proofing the Hill Laboratory business and providing a modern, efficient facility for employees.
