Holding famous buildings up

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 27

Holding famous buildings up

The Hitchins Group of Companies, which has its New Zealand home at Renwick, has been directly responsible for the preservation of many of the world’s most famous ancient buildings. The companies products have been useu in strengthening and preserving such buildings as the Acropolis in Athens, the Doges Palace in Venice, and St Paul’s Cathedral in London. A recent project was the restoration of the Dawn Temple in Bangkok. The whole building was reinforced, glued together, waterproofed and decorated without making it appear as if a new building had been constructed. In this achievement, the company met the require-: ments of King Chulalongkorn, who early this century decreed that if the building ever had to be repaired, it must look exactly the same after the repair as before. It is not expected that major maintenance will be needed on the temple for at least another 50 years. It is not expected that major maintenance will be needed on the temple for at least another 50 years. The Hitchins Group’s knowledge of the restoration and protection of stone, also helped in the complete reconstruction of the tallest temple in Thailand, after carrying out the necessary strengthening to prevent the structure collapsing — which it had been in danger of doing. The preservation process is also in demand on some buildings in New Zealand — especially new ones, where the group recommends methods of waterproofing, weather protection, decoration, floor protection, and even supplying acoustic ceiling sprays. Through the company’s research laboratories in Renwick, the group is developing more advanced methods of protecting buildings from the effects of a sometimes hostile environment.