WELLINGTON TOWN HALL Balcony Facade, Dress Circle & Organ Loft Ceiling Restoration

BALCONY FACADE : Restoration & replacement of original pressed metal elements to restore the Balcony Facade to original condition. DRESS CIRCLE: Removal & salvage of original pressed metal ceiling. Reinstatement of original panels & replacement of damaged panels to restore to original condition. ORGAN LOFT: Removal & salvage of original pressed metal ceiling panels. Reinstatement of original panels & replacement of damaged panels to restore to original condition.

2020-2024

Naylor Love

Wellington New Zealand

Teams from Stamp Pressed Metal, Adelaide Pressed Metal & Melbourne Pressed Metal under National Pressed Metal worked closely with builder Naylor Love on restoration of the Dress Circle & Balcony Facade & the Organ Loft ceiling. BALCONY FACADE WORKS: The restoration of the  Balcony Facade of the Dress Circle included a detailed creation of pressed metal elements to repair areas damaged by banks of poorly placed power points added decades ago. Electrical services were upgraded to code & the multiple power points were removed revealing the damaged areas of the bacony facade. To restore the damaged areas, rubbings were taken for sizing from the existing features & individual metal elements were crafted by hand to replicate & restore the missing details of the facade, seamlessly restoring it to its original condition. A new die named Filigree Frieze, was created for the frieze on the underside of the balcony facade as there were panels damaged by airconditioning ducts & panels that were beyond restoration. DRESS CIRCLE: The scope of works of the Dress Circle started in 2022 & involved expertise in the careful unpicking & removal of the original pressed metal panels & salvaging as much as possible for reinstatement. The original pressed metal panel lining of the Dress Circle ceiling is the design Acanthus in the Australian Pressed Metal catalogue. Acanthus panel is pressed to imperial measurements to match exactly with the original ceiling panels. Approximately 35% of the original panels were beyond repair & unusable due to rust & deterioration of the original tin. Areas patched in the 70's using panels that did not match the original design & were of poor statndard, were replaced to match the original design using the Acanthus panel. Once removed the salvaged panels were stripped & primed then reinstalled at the North end of the Dress Circle ceiling while the new Acanthus panels were installed at the South end of the ceiling, creating a timeline of the restoration. When painted the transition from original panels to new across the ceiling was seamless & restored to its original elegance. ORGAN LOFT CEILING: The organ was removed & put into storage before works commenced in this area adjoining part of the dress circle. The pressed metal panels were carefully removed & fortunately nearly 80% was salvageable. The design from the Organ Loft ceiling is Fleur in the Australian Pressed Metal catalogue & is manufactured from an original imperial measurement die to match in exactly with the original panels. The original panels were carefully removed, individually numbered & catalogued working with a Naylor Love Heritage team member. They were cleaned, labelled & carefully stored for future reinstatement. Panels that were unsalvageable were documented. The ceiling structure of the organ loft alcove was repaired  & wall strengthening works were carried out. Mechanicals & fire services were updated allowing reinstatement of the salvaged original pressed metal panels & the new imperial Fleur design panels used for completing the works. Once painted, the ceiling restoration was seamless & heritage elegance restored.