Regent Theatre Receives Awards

Dunedin (Friday 4 October) - The Dunedin City Council is extremely pleased to announce that the Regent Theatre redevelopment project has received two national awards at the Resene Total Colour Awards - the Heritage category and the overall Colour Master Nightingale Award.

Project architect Peter Porteous from Oakley Gray Architects entered the category one heritage building in the Heritage section of the Awards and was pleased to be advised that it had not only won that category, but also the overall award.

Mr Porteous explains, “As a category one heritage building, we had to be very sensitive to the existing colour palette – although it seems to be only a few colours, there are in fact 30-40. The auditorium palette was defined by the original colour scheme, and in the other areas we worked with both the Otago Theatre Trust and the Historic Places Trust to create a scheme that worked in those spaces.”

A conservation paint specialist was brought in to assess the interior before the project was put out to tender which was won by South Island firm Wrens.

DCC Economic Development and Property Manager Robert Clarks says, “I’m very passionate about saving our heritage and this building is a very significant piece of Dunedin’s heritage.

“As the building’s owner, the DCC is really pleased with the spectacular results achieved by the architect, the Regent Theatre Trust, Wrens and the other contractors involved. I thank them, and the community for its contribution to this project.”

Sarah Anderson, General Manager of the Regent Theatre says, “It’s amazing that so much work and expertise went into restoring and maintaining the appearance, to ensure it looks as though it hasn’t been touched at all. It’s a beautiful place to work and these awards are a wonderful acknowledgement of Dunedin’s favourite venue’s new lease on life.”

The cost for the painting of the auditorium ceiling and proscenium arch was $385,000. Its inclusion in the project was largely due to the success of the Otago Theatre Trust’s fundraising efforts, which raised $2.85 million of the $7.55 million redevelopment project.

More information about the awards is available at http://www.resene.co.nz/awardwinners.htm. Images of both the work and the result are available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/86jdc05hpyj52q4/XbNmAKGP1Q.

ENDS

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