The state-of-the-art Wanaka Recreation Centre, which opened its doors in July, has been heralded as one of the best new additions to this alpine community.

The multi-purpose centre offers a much-needed hub for sports and recreation, with a 250-seat indoor sports hall plus outdoor facilities for hockey, tennis and netball. There are also function rooms and changing and storage facilities.

But it was not without its controversies. It was 10 years in the planning and construction, and every aspect of the build was put under a very fine public microscope.

A key consideration by the Queenstown office of architects Warren & Mahoney, was to minimise the tracking of dirt and moisture into the facility without distracting from the clean lines of the design. After all, this facility would cater to a wide variety of patrons, from little league sports teams to black-tie banquets, in an alpine setting which throws up some of the harshest weather conditions anywhere in NZ.

So WAM turned to Advance Flooring, who had successfully solved their entrance matting solutions throughout the country, including in WAM's new Christchurch office.

Although Advance have used their industry leading CoralTread range very successfully in many similar buildings around the country, given the extremes of weather and the density of traffic at peak times, WAM opted for something with a bit more oomph.

ExtraTread is a prestigious aluminium and carpet strip mat with extra wide intense wear infills designed and engineered with extra absorbing power in mind. The mat offers a warm and attractive welcome to all guests, and can extract as much as 86% of the dirt and moisture of footwear as people enter.

ExtraTread offers high levels of safety and performance, exceeding both slip and fire safety regulations. And the ultra low-profile design with stylish interlocking sections makes it easy to install and maintain. Both the aluminium frame and the polyamide infills come in a variety of colours to blend in (or contrast) with interior designs.