The 'old' Wellington Town Hall has been refurbished and strengthened for earthquakes as part of the Wellington Civic Centre Development. The design outlined made maximum use of the existing brickwalls as shear walls and ensured that a load path was provided between all parts of the building and these. Careful sequencing of the demolition and construction works minimised the extent of temporary support works. In this manner a cost effective solution was achieved which enabled the entire project to be completed within a twelve month period in time for the 1992 International Arts Festival. This paper describes aspects of the design and construction of the project.