NZME - Christchurch Fit-Out

NZME’s Christchurch offices are located within the historic 1930s Municipal Electrical Department (MED) building, a former substation that was significantly damaged in the 2010–11 Christchurch earthquakes.

The restored building retains its key heritage features and now houses NZME’s major media brands, including Newstalk ZB, ZM, the New Zealand Herald, and associated digital platforms.

Adapting a 1930s heritage substation into a modern broadcasting and media workplace presented significant technical and physical constraints. The existing structure and retained heritage fabric required bespoke acoustic and services solutions to integrate studios, production spaces, and specialist technical infrastructure within the existing building envelope.

PJM was engaged by NZME as their project representative to provide client-side project management services, leading design management and construction observation and coordinating between the developer, consultants, contractor, and the NZME project team.

PJM’s role included overseeing compliance with the Agreement to Lease, managing the integrated base build and fit-out programme, and ensuring NZME’s performance requirements were met, including quality standards, studio acoustics, broadcasting systems, and the delivery of a bespoke interior fit-out reflecting NZME’s brand and workplace requirements.

The result is a technically complex, high-quality broadcasting and office environment delivered within a constrained heritage building.

Further detail on the project is available in the ARCHIPRO article here.