Robert Watson of SD Watson Ltd has been Project Manager at the Quan Am Buddhist Temple in Auckland’s Bombay area for about eleven years.

When it came time for the monastery‘s main entrance at Beaver Road East to be created, it involved a rather interesting brief.

"The owners wanted something strong and powerful, imposing but not in a scary way; a triple gateway that would represent strength, health, and prosperity.”

Robert had a “pretty good idea” in his head of how to deliver on the brief. He went to local merchant Tuakau ITM; having started off with the idea of 500x500 squares Robert took their advice to go with 400x400 large dimension timber posts from Northbeam

Once on-site, there was a lot of intricate and time-consuming work to be done – in the vicinity of 1,000 hours over four months.

“The four 6-metre pine posts came to us tanalised and, as well as all the finishing work, the posts were given a dark Wattyl Redwood stain, mostly for the colour contrast. We ‘45-ed’ and picture-framed the posts, and drilled through on angles so the lighting wires weren’t exposed or visible to the public,“ says Robert. All four posts were topped with copper hats.

“The gate actually travels through three of the posts and the ‘wings’ either side of the main posts are tongue-and-groove pine, also supplied by Tuakau ITM,” says Robert. 

“It has worked out really, really well.”