Tepid Baths grand opening tomorrow

The tiles are polished, the pools have been filled, the historic hanging baskets are in place and the staff and lifeguards are ready to welcome visitors to the carefully restored Tepid Baths.

The doors to Auckland’s iconic Tepid Baths will open to the public once again tomorrow, Saturday 23 June, after an ambitious $15.8 million restoration and upgrade.

Mayor Len Brown and Waitemata Local Board Chair Shale Chambers will officially reopen the 98-year-old city centre icon at a midday ceremony, followed by a symbolic breaking of the water by two Auckland swimmers. The pool will open at 7am on Sunday 24 June for normal business.

Mayor Len Brown acknowledged the scale and importance of this restoration project.

“This has been a large undertaking and the reopening signals the beginning of a new era for the Tepid Baths. Thousands of Aucklanders have childhood memories of visiting the baths – long may that continue,” says Len Brown.

The Tepid Baths closed in early 2010 and council officers and contractors began a fast-tracked programme of works to repair its aging infrastructure, protect the heritage values of this Category A heritage building and revamp the swimming and fitness facilities.

“This is an exciting occasion for those of us that know and love the Tepid Baths,” says Mr Chambers. “It is wonderful to see this historic building restored to its former glory for the benefit of all of Auckland and for people that live, work and play in the city centre to have a sleek and modern swimming pool and fitness centre at their disposal,” he says.

“This painstakingly crafted project has not only delivered new facilities, it has blended the old and new admirably – pieces of the original truss are on display and have been replicated in the new roof structure, the heritage facade has been restored, 1920s cabanas reinstated and the original kauri panelling can be found on the staircase to the gym.

“The restoration of the Tepid Baths has been a truly collaborative effort in partnership with the Auckland Council project team, contractors and heritage experts – a project the Waitemata Local Board has been proud to continue to champion and see through to completion,” says Mr Chambers

Work on the building has included:

• Replacing all the decayed concrete in the pool, floor and walls of the building
• Modifying and retiling the main and learner’s pools, making the main pool wider by one lane and adding a ramp to the learners pool
• Painstakingly removing 100 years of paint from the facade and carefully restoring plaster and paintwork and applying a breathable paint system
• Removing the decayed roof trusses and installing new trusses built to the original design
• Moving changing rooms to the front of the building
• Reinstating cabanas around the main and learners pools, matching the 1914 design as much as possible
• Upgrading water and air treatment systems to modern standards
• Installing state of the art gym equipment in a climate-controlled space overlooking both pools
• Installing the iconic and recognisable Tepid Baths neon sign over the building.
• Installing a new artwork on the Sturdee Street façade called “Memories of the Trusses” which celebrates rust and the trusses as a key driver for the renovation project.

Membership to both the pool and gym is already available at www.tepidbaths.co.nz or by visiting the membership office on site. Members and casual visitors can use the Tepid Baths from 7am on Sunday 24 June.

Construction partners:

• Architects: Jasmax
• Heritage architect: Matthews and Matthews Architects
• Project management: Coffey Projects
• Engineering: Holmes Consulting Group
• Building services: URS Ltd
• Quantity Survey: WT Partnerships
• Construction: New Zealand Strong

Notes for editors:

• The grand opening on Saturday 23 June begins at 11am with a walk-through self-guided tour of the Tepid Baths. This tour will end on Customs St with a free sausage sizzle.
• Space in the Tepid Baths building is limited and entry will be carefully controlled on a first come, first served basis. We ask visitors to be patient when accessing the building.
• The official opening ceremony will be at midday and will be hosted by Mayor Len Brown and Waitemata Local Board Chair Shale Chambers.
• Formalities, including speeches and plaque unveiling, will be followed by a ‘breaking of the water’ by Auckland swimmers Gary Gotlieb and Rima Williams.
• Auckland swimming group ‘Wet Hot Beauties’ will perform after the ceremony.
• Aucklanders have been given the opportunity to apply for free tickets to swim at two sessions on the afternoon of 23 June. These sessions are fully subscribed. As responsible pool managers, we cannot encourage additional swimmers for these sessions. The two sessions run between 1pm and 4.30pm and cater for 150 people in each session.