86 | ARCHITECTURE Copeland Associates Architects Rejuvenating unloved site a real joy Photo: Kelvin Lim. The opportunity to design a new early childhood centre for North Island provider New Shoots, rejuvenating an unloved site surrounded by nature was embraced by Auckland’s Copeland Associates Architects who have delivered an award winning facility in perfect harmony with its natural surroundings. Located in Greenhithe, a rapidly growing Northshore suburb, the site was once home to two ponds that stored stormwater running off the upper harbour motorway. “Over time those ponds were filled with industrial waste like concrete and reinforcing,” says Marco Duthie, who had the pleasure of being the project architect. “What remained were two mounds where the ponds had been with a stream running through the centre of the site. The site is in a really lovely leafy residential neighbourhood, but the site itself was not attractive and posed a number of architectural challenges.” New Shoots’ brief to Copeland Associates was to rejuvenate the site and create a nature centric design that interweaved the environment and classrooms, while achieving the functionality of an early childhood centre. “Although the site presented challenges it also created an interesting ideology of what an early childhood centre could be.” While the traditional early childhood centre design is a rectangular building with interconnecting rooms, the site’s environment posed a number of constraints that required and innovative architectural form of the building. “We had to work with both the mound and the stream that has riparian margins and we were working with a significant ecological area that couldn’t be built on,” explains Marco. “We had to touch lightly on the stream. We designed the centre as three separate buildings structured around an equilateral triangle on top of the left hand mound. Each of those buildings houses the different ages of the students, with one of the buildings including the staff room.” Encompassing an inner green and soft play area, a covered verandah within the equilateral formation provides protection from the elements. Sandpits with balustrades are suspended within the decks and under cover of trees. Marco says the design and construction of the three buildings, which total 600sqm, Proudly partnering to provide the engineering design for New Shoots. Civil & Structural Engineering | Surveying | Advisory www.calibregroup.com > Quality Construction & Management > Boutique small Commercial Construction > Specialists of Childcare Construction 027 5141 660 brett@peakcm.co.nz PO Box 300121, Albany 0752 Richard Loader utilise steel framing with prefabricated XLam structural panels “The XLam panels provide this beautiful natural timber finish, with accents of steel that support the large glazed openings and large roof spans. We softened the steel by painting it different colours that represent each building. One building represents earth, another nature and the other water. The distinction helps with way-finding and giving each building a unique character. There is high level glazing positioned to the east of each building that draws the morning sun and light into the buildings, energising the spaces where the children will be. Some of the windows open as well, providing nice passive ventilation.” A key feature of the design is a bridge over the stream connecting the carpark with the buildings. “Overlooking pukekos and ducks swimming in the stream, the bridge is designed to create this exciting experience for the children — leaving reality and entering this new world of imagination. Because it can be a scary experience for children to leave their parents behind, we wanted to create this wonderful new world for them to enter, right across from the bridge.” Marco says while there was a lot of collaboration with other architects in the Copeland team, with oversight from Barry Copeland throughout the project, he championed the concepts and drew the plans. Winning the 2021 Auckland regional NZIA awards in the Education section, the project went on to win a NZIA National award in the same section. “It’s amazing to be put into a category with such incredible architects. It’s a wonderful feeling and sense of achievement. “Everyone works so hard on these projects and so it is great to get that recognition.” New Shoots’ brief to Copeland Associates was to rejuvenate the site and create a nature centric design that interweaved the environment and classrooms.
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