One of Auckland’s premier hotel and conference addresses, Cordis, opened its landmark 17-storey Pinnacle Tower in late 2021, boosting the hotel's capacity to 640 rooms and making Cordis the largest hotel in New Zealand in terms of room count. The new five-star accommodation was designed by New Zealand architect Jasmax and cost $170 million.
Durable and trusted systems were selected by designer Philip Rutkiewicz. Jasmax was aware of the impact of building movement and risk defects within such large projects. A small hairline leak in waterproofing may take months, if not years, to become apparent and tracking the source is complex once the hotel is occupied. With this in mind, Rutkiewicz considered an Allproof shower tray. In assuring clients that their investment and revenue stream was well protected, the architectural team specified the Allproof tile over shower tray system for all 235 rooms of the extension.
Stainless steel shower trays boast excellent waterproofing features, with the impermeable layer of fully welded stainless steel falling to a flood-tested channel and spigot connected to PVC waste practically eliminating any risk of failure or leaks in this high-risk area. Other impervious solutions such as exposed stainless or acrylic trays have limitations on durability in high use environments and don’t often meet the interior design style demanded by five-star destinations.
Allproof developed 13 tray designs with laser-cut, in-house templates to suit all room layouts. Steel framing and hobs could be formed to this template, ensuring a perfect fit once the trays arrived. The template allowed the outlet to be marked, for concrete cutters to make the floor waste penetrations and plumbing services to be bought to the point of the wastes.
In order to meet projects demands, Allproof dedicated five staff members, of their 35-strong stainless fabrication team, with their own in-house production timeline set to meet the one on site. Their workshop – comprising of, among other machinery, a laser cutter, several CNC press brakes and a dedicated gluing room for the bases – produced 235 trays in nine months, ahead of schedule. This is no mean feat and not a single tray was rejected.
