The big makeover

November 8, 2008
Dramatic things are happening to Nelson's much-maligned Trafalgar Centre. Geoff Collett finds out what's going on behind the scenes. -------------------- As grand things involving armies of builders and millions of dollars get into full swing at Nelson's Trafalgar Centre, a line immortalised during the recent American presidential election campaign unavoidably comes to mind - the one about putting lipstick on a pig.
For, without wanting to be too unkind to the hulking great barn that has for the past 35 years been Nelson's principal events centre, it's only natural to wonder just what the dramatic-looking work now under way there is all about.
Is it, as the official line goes, merely a case of giving some much-needed attention to shortcomings in a place that has always reflected its utilitarian design? Could it yet be a bargain- basement answer to the city's crying need for a decent performance venue? Will it, god forbid, result in a half- finished job, deemed "good enough" and beyond the city's means to see through to completion?
Most of all, can a bit of lipstick (or even the cosmetic surgeon's full bag of tricks) transform the Trafalgar Centre into something a bit less . . . porcine?
Certainly, the swelling addition to the great hulk has captured attention and some imagination as it has taken shape throughout this year. Various whispering, mischief-making and speculation has been stirred up about what lies within the enormous curved bit now tacked on to the centre's rump.
The short answer is, not as much as some may suspect, but rather more than others may have anticipated.
On a tour of the building - currently a construction site - the project architect, Brian Riley of Arthouse Architecture, describes the work as "pragmatic", a case of getting as much done as the budget will allow. More than 1000sq m of extra space has been added, spread over three levels. The changes include:
A large portable stage, at 16m by 16m easily big enough to accommodate most operas, orchestras, big concerts and the like, and designed for a proscenium layout (with an archway to frame the stage and a full-length curtain).
A 16.5m-high ceiling, not high enough to accommodate a full fly tower (the area used for manoeuvring technical and stage equipment above the stage), but still providing reasonable clearance for stage production work, as well as trusses in the ceiling for hanging lighting equipment, and gantries to access them.
A substantial area to serve as a backstage during stage productions.
More seating and a significantly larger capacity (room for up to 1000 more people, including those standing).
Additional toilets and new changing rooms.
Better acoustics, including baffling in the ceiling, which should help to reduce the din of heavy rain on the tin roof. Other work on the roof should stop it creaking and banging loudly when it expands and contracts with temperature changes.
New heating, power supply and ventilation.
A new mezzanine lobby, including an elevated viewing area, which could ease the pressure on the existing foyer during intervals and functions.
More storage.
New rear doors, big enough for trucks to drive in and unload (with a strengthened floor area to support the weight).
Space for a new basketball and netball court, while the existing main court will be sanded back and revarnished.
"I think it's a bold upgrade, " says Nelson city councillor Pete Rainey, the council's community services chairman. "Nelsonians are going to be happy with the result."
But Rainey, more than most, surely hopes they're not going to be so happy that they'll think the work finally settles the timeworn debate about what the city does and doesn't need in terms of performance and events facilities.
Those who think that the $7 million Trafalgar Centre upgrade could be an adequate substitute for the estimated $30 million performing arts centre also planned for the city don't understand the differences and don't understand the need, Rainey says.
In the events business, the Trafalgar Centre is called a "flat floor" venue, designed for activities that need a single- level expanse - court sports, for example, or trade shows.
But in the best make-do fashion, it has been called on to perform all sorts of other functions that belie its tin-shed design: conferences, festivals, banquets, the World of WearableArt show, numerous stage performances.
It often really has been a case of making do. The research that led to the current work identified a long list of shortcomings: poor heating, shocking acoustics, a pokey foyer, an inadequate kitchen, non-existent backstage facilities, dreadful toilets and so on - things which, if anyone stopped to think too hard about them, might make them embarrassed to invite the visitors in.
Still, given that they don't have much choice, the users and visitors have continued to flood in - over 125,000 people passed through the Trafalgar Centre during 2007, according to council records.
Not all the shortcomings are being addressed. The architects intended the current work to be only half of the job, proposing a similar extension for the other end of the building, including replacing the entrance, foyer, kitchen, main public toilets and Victory Room.
The decision to go ahead with just the southern end extension was signed off by the previous council as a "stop-gap" until a performing arts centre could be finalised.
It is still not certain that the northern end will be done any time soon, although the council's community projects manager, Andrew Petheram, says it has $500,000 in this year's budget for planning work. Rainey accepts that the poor state of the toilets, kitchen, foyer and so on adds to the case for pushing ahead with a second stage, and that once the existing work is finished, the new bit is going to look so different from the rest of the building that "people are going to expect some improvement".
But the council is not committed to going ahead with the work. Rainey says the first chance to test the waters will come shortly, when it starts its three- yearly review of its 10-year plan. And as Petheram points out, it has some big competing demands in his portfolio, including the Saxton Field development, the Trafalgar Park upgrade and Wakefield Quay improvements. While getting the full upgrade finished is "desirable - very desirable, it's not critical. It's a matter of quality and comfort".
Rainey concedes that there is scope for "confusion" about why Nelson should need both a performing arts centre and a significantly improved Trafalgar Centre, but argues that "as a region, we will begin to get used to the differentiation between these projects fairly quickly".
Those who reckon Nelson can have one without the other "don't understand the needs of the region. There's a whole range of things we're missing out on because we don't have a theatre".
Then again, there will be the potential for crossover if Nelson eventually ends up with both. One of various feasibility studies suggested that about 30 events a year that used the Trafalgar Centre could be expected to go to a purpose-built performance centre. A consultants' report assessing the Trafalgar Centre in 2005 found that it would still be the go-to venue for big trade shows, Nelson Giants basketball and other indoor sporting events, trade displays, school balls and the like. But a performing arts centre would compete with it, or outdo it, for such events as indoor concerts, ballet and conferences.
Come February, when the Trafalgar Centre is thrown back open for the public to once again flock to, Nelsonians can judge for themselves just how much tarting up the old girl can bear.

But will they come?
If we build it, will the touring acts come? It remains to be seen whether a revamped Trafalgar Centre will come up to the mark for the country's three big performance companies, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the New Zealand Opera.
The opera company recently gave Nelson a swerve because of the lack of a suitable venue here. Its general manager, Aidan Laing, says its next tour won't be until 2010 and it will assess suitable venues as it prepares its itinerary.
The company has previously avoided the Trafalgar Centre because of its acoustic shortcomings but Laing says it seeks to be as flexible as it can about the venues it performs in while on tour, to widen the range of towns it goes to.
The NZSO sends a small orchestra to Nelson during its regular national tours, using the Nelson School of Music, although its artistic planning manager, Rachel Hyde, says the small auditorium there poses various problems. She does not know whether the orchestra will consider a revamped Trafalgar Centre for performances in future - the orchestra has to be particular about the venues it uses because of the sensitivity of its instruments to things like humidity and temperature.
Similarly, the ballet company occasionally sends to Nelson a reduced show that does not require a grand venue, having previously performed in the Theatre Royal and the Nelson College hall. Its technical stage manager, Andrew Lees, says its principal requirement for full-scale shows is a proper fly tower. Like the others, he is not familiar with the changes at the Trafalgar Centre, but at best it seems it could be a contender in future for the ballet's smaller touring shows.