Level 4 Lockdown: Capturing the Site Before Closing

The Last Day Before Lockdown

New Zealand's first COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown began at midnight on 25 March 2020. In the hours before it took effect, businesses across the country were closing up, securing sites, and sending people home.

For us, that meant a final visit to a commercial fit-out site that had been progressing beautifully — one we'd been looking forward to photographing properly in the coming days. Those photographs didn't happen on schedule. Instead, we grabbed what we could before the doors closed.

What the Site Looked Like

The installation was close to complete. Workstations were configured and cabled. Seating was in position. The breakout area had taken shape. It was, in the language of construction projects, substantially complete — the kind of state where you can walk through it and see clearly what it's going to be.

What we couldn't do was finish it. Or photograph it properly. Or hand it over to the client. All of that had to wait.

The Return

New Zealand's Level 4 lockdown lasted approximately four weeks before restrictions began to ease. When we were able to return to site, the project picked up where it had left off. The punch-list was completed, the space was photographed properly, and the client moved in.

The experience reminded us of something important: the value of good planning and strong supplier relationships in an industry where unexpected delays are an occupational reality. We're grateful for the clients, suppliers, and installation partners who navigated that period alongside us. Get in touch with the team.