World Class Sports Performance & Healthcare Centre

The largest private sports centre of its kind in New Zealand at more than 2,500sqm, The Mill will offer locals and visitors a world-class, integrated sports and fitness training and recovery experience.

Cook Brothers Construction Southern Lakes is proud to lead this innovative project, showcasing our commitment to excellence in mass timber construction.

The facility includes a 1,200-square-metre gym, a spin cycle studio, a group high-intensity workout studio, a 25-metre indoor turf track, a high-tech recovery room, indoor and outdoor training spaces, treatment rooms, a mezzanine meeting and event space, and a hot-cold — or contrast — therapy zone with infrared as well as traditional saunas and plunge pools.

The mass timber was procured from WIEHAG Timber Construction in Austria. In early 2024, Southern Lakes Regional Manager Josh Gibbons and Design Manager Stuart Mitchell travelled to Europe to inspect the mass timber beams. They toured multiple factories in Austria and Italy to further understand the mass timber market, establish future relationships, and gain confidence in the project's delivery schedule.

So far, a real success in the project has been integrating our design manager, Stuart Mitchell, with the wider Design team. Stuart's work in the modelling space ensured the manufacturing model of the mass timber was coordinated with both the Architectural and Structural models. This front-end design work has paid dividends in the seamless installation of the timber structure.

Mass timber construction provides significant sustainability advantages. We are using responsibly sourced timber from WIEHAG in Austria, with the project forecast to reduce its carbon footprint compared to a traditional steel and concrete build. Timber acts as a carbon sink, storing carbon dioxide over its lifetime, and the off-site prefabrication of the structure allows for precise assembly with minimal waste. The lightweight nature of timber also reduces foundation requirements, lowering overall material use.

On-site, we are implementing a comprehensive waste reduction approach. We are identifying where we can first and foremost avoid waste before ensuring any generated waste is managed responsibly by maximising diversion from landfill.

Throughout September and October, the Southern Lakes team hosted a series of Site Visits for the NZ Institute of Building and the wider construction industry, showcasing our work on the project so far. This provided a great opportunity to learn more from the wider project team, including Project Manager Mark Tutty, Site Manager Keri Iva, and Sustainability Manager Kristy Jones.

Stay tuned to hear more about The Mill, which is due for completion in 2025.

Thanks to our dedicated Trade Partners for all their hard work so far:

WIEHAG Timber Construction Austria, Aye Build Ltd, Flints Plumbing & Drainage, Paul Smith Earthmoving, VIP Structural Steel, Extreme Roofing, Aotea Electric Queenstown, Aquaheat & NCG.