The Hawke's Bay Opera House plaza has had ongoing design problems but Hastings councillors are getting closer to signing off on a new development design that should solve some of the issues.
A concept plan by Hawke's Bay-based design practice, CREATE Ltd, was presented to the council on Thursday last week with four options for a new roof to be built over the plaza, along with other design changes.
A canvas retractable roof was put on in 2007 but was coming to the end of its useful life, council property assets and project manager John Jiang told the councillors.
It had issues with rain and wind getting through the gaps, and the whole area also had problems with acoustics and it was hard to control the temperature and ventilation, he said.
At the meeting councillors held off on choosing a final roof design, the options ranging in price from $2.1 million to $2.45 million, until they had met with the architects to help them decide on the best version, as there were still concerns.
The option staff recommended was a dome timber roof, inset with a composite material which would allow natural light through. The state-of-the-art material would allow for the level of light to be altered, through to black-out.
Although at $1.31 million it was more expensive than some other options, the recommended proposal presented a superior design that was more functional and aesthetically pleasing, as well as still being cost efficient, a report to the council said.
Councillor Kevin Watkins said he wanted to be sure the noise of loud rain on the roof wouldn't cause problems, and councillor Damon Harvey wanted assurances the acoustics would be improved.
Group manager community facilities and programmes Alison Banks said staff would come back to council if they were not convinced the sound would be dealt with.
Councillor Ann Redstone asked about the life of the product that was recommended, which was said to be more than 40 years.
The council did agree to a budget of $2.5 million, while maintaining efforts to find external funding to contribute to the total.
As well as the roof being changed, the project included altering the differing floor levels, to allow for a larger range of events to be held.
The reconfiguration would make it easier to hold stage shows, trade shows, conferences, balls and banquets.
The plaza, next to the Hawke's Bay Opera House, would be closed from January next year for construction, expected to be completed by July.
The work was being treated as a separate project from that of earthquake strengthening of the Opera House theatre, which was in the detailed investigation stage before physical works start in August.