Te Papa museum has panels similar to Grenfell Tower

Te Papa museum is one of 112 buildings found to have some level of ACP cladding. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The building that holds New Zealand's national collection of treasures is clad in similar panels to those used on the Grenfell Tower in London, where 72 people died in a fire.

Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand is on a list of 112 buildings around Wellington found to use aluminium-composite panels (ACP) on them to some extent.

The investigation into use of the combustible cladding was prompted by the Grenfell Tower disaster in July 2017.

The Wellington City Council's list reveals buildings that use ACP to a greater or lesser degree include hospitals, hotels, large office buildings, the offices of Government ministries, and the city's tallest building: the Majestic Centre.

Wellington East Girls College, the Royal Thai Embassy, and Archives House are all included in the list.

The school's principal Sally Haughton said the building using ACP had not actually been built yet, and after the fire they had reassessed the project and decided to move to an upgraded product with a different core material.

They were working with a fire officer to assess performance, she said.

Only about 4-5 per cent of the total build will use the product, and it will only be in small areas around window frames, she said.

"The council, in their statement, have said that they don't have concerns about the use of the material in the buildings on the list, which is quite a strong statement."

Te Papa spokeswoman, Kate Camp, said the museum had a "small amount" of a similar type of cladding to Grenfell Tower.

"The fire risk that it posed was assessed as low but we decided to replace it anyway. We're about halfway through that process.

"Keeping people and taonga safe is incredibly important to us, and we appreciate the work the WCC did to assess buildings across town."

In 2017 the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment investigated the use of ACP on New Zealand buildings, and council launched its own investigation to assist.

It confirmed the exteriors of 112 buildings in Wellington City feature ACP, though some of that use might only be as limited as panels on signage.

None of the 112 buildings presents significant concerns in terms of the presence of ACP and the safety of occupants.

Council's list said the type of ACP used on Te Papa was not established, but that ACP was located around the entrance lobby, roof canopy and partial cladding.

The building has multiple types of sprinkler systems throughout.

Council's building compliance manager, Chris Scott, said about 4800 building files across the city were reviewed. Those buildings that were identified through this process were then visually checked to confirm there was an ACP type cladding present.

Council delayed making the ACP list public because it has been working with building owners, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and fire safety experts to ensure the status of all buildings is fully understood and owners have had a chance to provide information to occupants.

The 112 buildings range from properties with varying levels of exterior ACP cladding on their facades to premises where the presence of ACP may be limited to some exterior signage.

"In summary we have found that no building gives us significant concerns in terms of the presence of ACP and the safety of occupants," Scott said.

"The multi-storey buildings with elements of ACP have generally been built in the past three decades and feature a variety of life safety features that allow occupants time to evacuate the building in the event of fire."