86 | ARCHITECTURE Integrating Architecture NAPIER & HASTINGS 06 844 6464 | 61D Ford Road, Onekawa, Napier | sales.hb@flooringdesign.co.nz Carpet Laminate Vinyl Timber Wall Coverings Autex Acoustics Pacific Environments NZ Total Residential & Commercial Door Solutions Bay of Plenty and Waikato Wide Specialising in Wooden Interior Doors, Pre-hung Doors, Cavity Sliders, Exterior Doors, Barn Doors, Door Hardware and Accessories, Wardrobe Systems and House Lots. Contact us: info@totaldoorsystems.co.nz www.totaldoorsystems.co.nz Proud to support and supply Paci c Environments NZ Challenges no barrier to successful outcomes T T Anne Boswell School work a privilege The redeveloped facilities encompass three new teaching blocks. T T Kim Newth For Pacific Environments Architects, helping to shape spaces where rangatahi can thrive is a privilege and the award-winning, multidisciplinary team has been working with schools across Aotearoa New Zealand for over 40 years. In the education sector, design projects can sometimes evolve over many years. One such memorable project for Pacific Environments Architects involved the rebuild of Napier’s Tamatea Intermediate School / Te Kura Takawaenga o Tamatea. The practice was shortlisted for a 2026 Gisborne & Hawke’s Bay Architecture Award for their work on this transformative project, which started in 2020. Construction was completed in 2024. The regional recognition for Pacific Environments Architects follows a merit award for the same project at last year’s Property Industry Awards. “We don’t always enter the NZIA architecture awards, and when we do it’s because we think a project is really worthwhile, so getting shortlisted this year in a very competitive field has been a great outcome for us,” says director, Clive Chapman, who brings decades of local industry experience in education and residential design to the practice. “I personally enjoy working in schools, because you’re designing a building that’s From grand houses to petrol stations, sushi restaurants and new car dealerships, Integrating Architecture has built a reputation for guiding challenging construction projects through to successful completion. The Hawke’s Bay-based project management company is a small specialist team led by Stephen Birkhead alongside project management co-ordinator Megan Truebridge. While compact in size, the business has developed extensive experience managing challenging commercial and residential projects across New Zealand, providing clients with the confidence that every stage of a development is co-ordinated smoothly. Integrating Architecture works alongside architects, engineers, contractors and councils to keep projects moving, balancing budget, quality, and stakeholder expectations. Its portfolio spans retail, hospitality, fuel, commercial and industrial developments, with clients including Z Energy (eight Z Energy service stations), Foodstuffs New World (Havelock North), Gilmours (Napier) and a growing number of St Pierre’s Sushi restaurants nationwide. Following the successful completion of St Pierre’s Hastings and St Pierre’s Yaldhurst, the company is also overseeing new stores in Invercargill, Rangiora, Palmerston North and Rotorua. A recent significant achievement is the St Pierre’s Hastings development, which was awarded silver in the 2026 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards. I Integrating Architecture worked closely with project partners, including Stead Construction, Archimatter, AgFirst Consultants, HB, Initia Geotechnical Specialists, and Kotahi Studio, to transform a long-neglected corner site, previously occupied by a fuel station, into a striking new restaurant. The Heretaunga Street site presented numerous unforeseen challenges. Although extensive investigations had been completed before construction began, the team encountered contaminated soil, buried fuel tanks, concrete slabs, old service pits and underground pipe work. Additional complications included relocating major power cables, upgrading electrical infrastructure, and installing a new pump station to overcome complex sewer constraints. Rather than allowing these issues to derail the project, the project team adopted a collaborative, solutions-focused approach. Stead Construction separated the earthworks from the building programme so contaminated material could be remediated more efficiently, while careful planning around testing and disposal helped minimise delays. The project incurred approximately $600,000 in unforeseen variations, yet the owners remained committed throughout the process. Strong relationships between Integrating Architecture, consultants, contractors and Hastings District Council ensured challenges were addressed quickly, with the council actively supporting the redevelopment of what had long been considered a problem gateway site. The mayor, chief executive and councillors attended both the site handover and official opening, highlighting the project’s importance to the community. Despite major setbacks, the restaurant has exceeded trading expectations and transformed a difficult site into a successful development. This is not Integrating Architecture’s first award: in 2022, three projects received Master Builder awards, they won a NZ Commercial Project award for the New Plymouth St Pierre’s Sushi store in 2019, and a Highly Commended award for the $4.5 million Sandhu House in Hastings. It was also a finalist in the NZ Building Awards (Consultant Category) in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. going to be appreciated by hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the lifetime of that building.” At Tamatea Intermediate, the brief wasn’t just for a single building, but for a complete rebuild to replace dilapidated buildings and deliver, through considered design, an educational transformation prioritising learner wellbeing, flexibility, cultural identity and collaboration. “We were appointed by the Ministry of Education as the design lead in late 2019 and started this project in 2020,” Clive says. The redeveloped facilities encompass three new teaching blocks, a special needs school, a performing arts facility and pastoral care/ administration. An ancestral narrative of exploration and navigation helped the design team to imagine the new building’s roof as a river pathway, holding within it the waka (classrooms) in which students navigate their middle years of learning. An extended roofline enabled the creation of a covered walkway between buildings and generous covered outdoor learning areas. In a narrative piece on the school’s rebuild, principal Joanne Smith observed that the architecture embeds tea o Māori as a foundational design principle.
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