Building Consultancy Team of the Year: Technical Excellence and Collaborative Delivery at Manukau Health Park
At the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards 2026 in Auckland, Hampton Jones was named Building Consultancy Team of the Year. The award recognised the firm’s technical excellence, collaborative approach and commitment to delivering outstanding outcomes for clients. A key project underpinning this achievement was the re-cladding of the Manukau Health Park Elective Surgical Hospital (MESH), where Hampton Jones Property Consultancy provided specialist building surveying, weathertightness and façade design services.
Hampton Jones was appointed by Built Environs Ltd during the tender stage of the project, which formed part of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand’s $316 million redevelopment of Manukau Health Park. Delivered under a Design and Build procurement model, the project demonstrated the firm’s ability to manage technical uncertainty, provide specialist advice and support the successful delivery of complex healthcare infrastructure.
Opened in 1997, the MESH hospital is an important healthcare facility serving South Auckland. The original building required significant modernisation to address systemic weathertightness defects and improve its long-term durability, thermal performance and resilience. The work also needed to be delivered within a live clinical environment, with hospital services remaining fully operational throughout construction. Minimising disruption to patients, clinical staff and critical medical procedures was therefore central to every stage of the project.
Hampton Jones led the building surveying and façade design process for the existing hospital. Its role covered investigation, scope definition, design leadership, specialist consultant coordination, construction monitoring and stakeholder engagement. Early involvement allowed the team to identify risks, validate the proposed scope and support greater cost and programme certainty before construction began.
Managing uncertainty was one of the project’s most significant challenges. Large-scale re-cladding projects frequently uncover defects and conditions that cannot be fully understood from drawings or visual inspections alone. Hampton Jones reviewed the building’s history of weathertightness issues and led targeted invasive investigations to confirm the extent of the required remediation.
A particularly important discovery involved the ground-floor timber-framed structure concealed behind the existing brick façade. It had previously been assumed that the brickwork could remain in place. Hampton Jones’ investigations identified extensive timber decay that had not been recognised during the initial project planning.
Identifying this issue during the early stages enabled the project team to make informed decisions before the affected areas became critical to the construction programme. It also reduced the risk of significant delays and cost escalation, particularly where the new hospital wings connected with the existing building. This demonstrated the value of evidence-based investigation and specialist professional judgement within a Design and Build environment.
Hampton Jones also worked closely with the façade engineer, contractor and client to advocate for a continuous building envelope solution that extended beyond the original scope. This included replacing existing soffits, fascias and gutters rather than limiting the work to the primary wall areas. Although this required a broader remediation approach, it provided the client with a more complete and durable outcome.
The continuous envelope addressed both known and latent weathertightness risks while improving thermal performance, weather resistance and long-term maintainability. Durable, low-maintenance materials replaced deteriorating timber soffits, exposed rafters and poor-condition guttering. This reduced the likelihood of recurring defects and avoided the need for costly future access works at height, improving both whole-of-life value and operational health and safety.
The completed façade and joinery system transformed the appearance and performance of the original hospital. Its contemporary, lightweight design visually connected the existing building with the new hospital wings while resolving systemic weathertightness concerns. The solution extended the service life of the building and strengthened its ability to support essential healthcare delivery within a rapidly growing community.
Collaboration was fundamental to the project’s success. Hampton Jones worked as part of a joint delivery model with Built Environs, Te Whatu Ora and a wider team of specialist consultants. The firm provided technical expertise that was not available within the contractor’s internal team while maintaining clear professional independence and acting in the client’s long-term interests.
The procurement and management of specialist fire, façade and structural consultants required careful scope definition, coordination and pricing. Hampton Jones led the staged development of the design to align with both hospital operations and construction sequencing. Regular design meetings, safety-in-design workshops and structured stakeholder engagement supported informed decision-making throughout the project.
Site observations were undertaken collaboratively by Hampton Jones architects and building surveyors, structural engineers, façade engineers, contractors and specialist trades. Bringing the relevant disciplines together on site allowed technical issues to be reviewed in context and resolved collectively. This practical approach improved communication and helped ensure that proposed solutions were understood and supported across the delivery team.
Coordination within the live hospital environment required particular care. Hampton Jones participated in stakeholder sessions with hospital representatives, clinical staff and patient advocate groups to understand how the proposed works could affect clinical operations. Investigations, design stages and construction activities were then planned around these operational requirements to maintain continuity of care.
This approach required flexibility throughout delivery. As new information emerged, the team adapted the design, sequencing and construction methodology without losing sight of the agreed programme or the needs of hospital users. The ability to respond to changing conditions while maintaining uninterrupted clinical services was a defining feature of the project.
Cultural engagement also helped shape the design. Hampton Jones led consultation with Mana Whenua to ensure the façade’s colour palette and visual expression acknowledged the cultural and historical significance of the site. This process helped create a stronger sense of place and ensured that the completed building responded to more than technical and operational requirements.
Innovation on the MESH project was demonstrated through adaptive delivery, risk-led planning and collaborative problem-solving. Rather than depending on technological novelty, the project used an early contractor engagement approach and a Design and Build procurement model to address the risks associated with re-cladding an occupied hospital. Hampton Jones’ tender-stage involvement informed the bid strategy, preliminary scope and risk pricing, providing greater certainty before the client committed to construction.
A tailored investigation, design and staging strategy was developed specifically for the operational hospital environment. Invasive investigations and construction works were carefully sequenced around clinical activities, while the design continued to respond to conditions uncovered on site. This allowed newly identified issues, including concealed structural decay, to be addressed without compromising the overall programme.
Best-practice building science informed the project’s decision-making. Scope validation, continuous-envelope design and whole-of-life performance considerations were embedded from the outset. These measures delivered value beyond the immediate remediation by reducing future maintenance exposure and improving the building’s long-term durability.
Sustainability was similarly approached through asset longevity, operational performance and social value. Remediating the existing building rather than replacing it extended the life of a significant healthcare asset and avoided the embodied carbon that would have been associated with demolition and reconstruction. Although a full carbon assessment was not undertaken, retaining and upgrading the existing structure represented an important avoided-carbon outcome.
The new façade and joinery systems improved insulation, airtightness, moisture management and weather resistance. These improvements support reduced heat loss, lower operational energy demand and greater resilience to increasingly severe weather conditions. Working within the existing building footprint also limited unnecessary disturbance to surrounding areas.
Material selection focused on durable and low-maintenance systems. Replacing vulnerable external elements reduced the resources, waste and emissions associated with repeated maintenance interventions. It also reduced the future need for scaffolding and access equipment, delivering additional safety and operational benefits.
Social sustainability was central to the project. Engagement with Te Whatu Ora, hospital staff, surgeons and patient advocates ensured that the works were planned around the needs of the people using the facility. Maintaining uninterrupted healthcare services protected patient care while enabling the hospital building to be upgraded for future use.
The improved building envelope also contributes to healthier internal environments. Better thermal performance and reduced moisture ingress support the comfort and well-being of patients and staff. By safeguarding a vital healthcare facility, the project supports the continued delivery of healthcare services to South Auckland’s growing population.
The wider Manukau Health Park redevelopment has introduced important new facilities, including operating theatres, radiology hubs, renal services and advanced breast-care facilities. With outpatient demand in the region expected to increase by more than 20 per cent over the coming decade, extending the life and performance of the existing hospital building plays an essential role in supporting future healthcare needs.
The MESH re-cladding project was delivered on time and within the agreed budget despite the complexity of working within an occupied clinical environment. It resolved systemic weathertightness defects, improved durability and thermal performance, and integrated the original hospital with the newly constructed wings.
Client feedback described the project as a “shining light” within the broader Manukau Health Park redevelopment programme. This reflected the quality of Hampton Jones’ technical leadership, proactive risk management and collaborative delivery. Early identification of concealed structural decay protected the project from substantial cost and programme impacts, while the continuous envelope solution delivered a more durable and maintainable asset.
The project demonstrates the value that specialist building surveying and façade expertise can bring to complex remediation programmes. Through rigorous investigation, evidence-based design, independent professional advice and close collaboration, Hampton Jones delivered an outcome that addressed immediate defects while protecting the client’s long-term interests.
More importantly, the project extended the life of a critical hospital serving the South Auckland community. Its successful delivery illustrates how technical excellence, cultural engagement, environmental responsibility and stakeholder collaboration can work together to create lasting value.
These qualities reflect the standards recognised through Hampton Jones’ selection as the RICS Building Consultancy Team of the Year 2026.