On 18 August, the first timber pile for the Living Pā was driven into the ground, marking the official commencement of the construction phase. Previous works have been focused on site preparation.

“It will look like a growing forest of trees”, says LT McGuinness Project Manager James McLean. “To form the low embodied carbon emissions foundations of the building, we have just over 400 piles to drive. It will be a massive but exciting challenge for our team.”

The longest timber piles reach up to 16 metres in length and come from a specialist timber pile forest near Taupō. The piles are driven into the ground with a pile driving machine that accelerates a 2.5 tonne hammer onto the pile to drive it down to rock level.

“Our team will be actively monitoring noise and vibrations so that we can ensure minimal disruption to the neighbouring community,” says McLean.

If you are walking or driving by the site, keep an eye out, you’ll see the Pā start to emerge from the ground!