Skyline Queenstown, a tourist attraction that’s served visitors in Queenstown for more than 50 years, has just undergone a significant transformation to improve visitor experience.

The second major upgrade since the cableway was built in 1967, the $250-million project included the construction of a brand-new gondola system, comprising of the top gondola terminal building, a new base terminal machine hall, a back-of-house area and a five-level car parking building.

The five-level car parking building was constructed to accommodate the growing number of guests. With close to 400 new parking spaces, this multi-storey facility has created easy access to all Skyline Queenstown attractions, making it more convenient for both visitors and staff.

Moddex overcoming challenges in a complex project

Working in collaboration with Naylor Love, Moddex was selected to supply our Conectabal commercial balustrades for the five-level car parking building. There were three egress areas included in the project that required NZBC (New Zealand Building Code) F4 & D1 compliant balustrade solutions.

During the project, Moddex faced complex challenges, including the need to meet the building’s unique seismic requirements. We had to design the balustrade in a way that could integrate seismic sliding joints to ensure safety standards and New Zealand Building Code compliance was met.

The project site also posed significant space constraints, and the installation program was relatively drawn out. Moddex’s prefabricated balustrades were the perfect alternative to traditional onsite welding methods that would have typically taken up a lot of space and taken much longer to fabricate and install.

Not only are Moddex’s balustrades manufactured offsite, which cut out the need for onsite welding, but the flat-packed nature of Moddex’s modular system meant we were able to send product to site and store using minimal space. We could then install in progressive stages as areas became available from other trades.

Additionally, Moddex’s ability to integrate seamlessly with the IFC building models to design, approve, and manufacture the balustrades ahead of site readiness, meant we could commence installation as various project stages became available.

Project details

Project: Skyline Queenstown

Location: Queenstown, NZ

Client: Naylor Love

Industry: Commercial

Products Used:

  • Assistrail® - Disability Handrails - AR150
  • Conectabal® - Commercial Balustrades - CB10, CB40