Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Heritage tiles found in Rotorua museum
Enquiry
I was looking at the agenda for the upcoming infra and env meeting and saw:
Heritage tiles in Zone 4 café clashing with structural strengthening works:
o These tiles must remain in place, and adjustments are being planned to accommodate them.
That's a pretty cool find - can I please ask for any picture of them (in situ or at the time they might have been installed?) and a description of what they are like? How many are there, how big etc. How old?
How they were found? And how they were previously unknown?
Is there any further update to what is in the agenda on what the impact will be to works cost to keep them safe? (And how this will happen?)
Response
We supplied the reporter with photos of the tiles (see below)
From Council Spokesperson:
The heritage tiles referred to in the report were found under the tiled floor of the café area, near where the original Rachel pool is, which was also covered up by the café floor.
There are three areas of these tiles in the museum. They date back to when the Bath House (the middle portion of the museum building) was built, in 1908.
The tiles are brown/black glazed terracotta tiles. They are in the original position, depicting the original partition layout of the bath area.
The current structural strengthening design for the museum utilises the café floor space where the tiles are and we are looking at options for managing this issue.
Impacts on design and costs won’t be known until we have established what the options are, but we do not anticipate it to have a major impact on design and costs.
For more on the museum project: Building Project - Rotorua Museum.
