4 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Whangarei District Council: Civic Centre ‘Open and transparent’ “We wanted the building to be open and transparent. All customer service/public facing functions are on the ground floor,” says WDC’s Chief Financial Officer, Alan Adcock. from page 3 DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL CLIENT SOLUTIONS Proud to support the Whangarei Civic Centre Project b b d . c o . n z The ProVision difference From the sale of a data projector to a fully integrated installation, ProVision has developed a sense of customisation and is solution driven. No matter what your environment, ProVision Technologies can create an audio visual experience tailored to suit your needs. Our technicians are trained to the highest level. We are the first Pro Audio Visual company to achieve CAVSP (Certified Audio Visual Solution Provider). Our difference is our creativity. +64 9 379 3792 ask@provision.co.nz www.provision.co.nz “Covid has resulted in cost escalations. Just the logistics involved with getting resources has been challenging. For example, the lifts were being made in China. They just closed the factories down for six months, and so they were six months late in coming.” Spread over four levels, the new Civic Centre will deliver all the core functions of Council, and house customer facing staff, elected councillors and the democratic processes, and the Council staff who process things likes building consents and liquor licenses. “There are 470 workstations in the building of which we will initially need 420,” explains Alan. “We’re a growing district, and therefore had an eye to future requirements in the buildings design and capacity. “We wanted the building to be open and transparent. All customer service/public facing functions are on the ground floor and the building is very open with lots of glass. “For our staff, we wanted to ensure the building was very accessible so there is easy movement between the floors. It’s very much open plan, with lots of private spaces as well. “There’s a massive central atrium that runs from the ground floor to the roof to allow lots of natural light into the building. The furthest any staff member sits away from natural light is three metres. “There’s very efficient air conditioning and very good acoustics throughout the building. We’ve been very mindful of the materials used, not just in how they are made but also how they might be disposed of in 50 or 100 years’ time.” Working closely with hapū partners, WDC has threaded a cultural story throughout the building in both the materials and design, with different levels of the building displaying different themes to support that story. “Right from the start we had active consultation with our local hapu. “They appointed a Roopu Kaumatua group, representing the local hapū, as our reference point. The story told is the separation of Papatūānuku (earth mother) from Ranginui (sky father) – which is very core Māori mythology.” The cultural story is continued outside of the building with a large kapehu, or compass, pointing to the most significant pa sites around the area, of which there are many. Corten steel screens separate the new Civic Centre from the adjacent site. The screens include a design based on the constellations. While particularly important to hapū they also represent a wider multi-cultural context as some constellations are visible from anywhere in the world. Throughout the project WDC has also been conscious of social procurement, and using the project as a foundation for developing trade skills and capability in Northland, particularly amongst female tradespeople, Māori and other ethnic groups, something Alan says Canam were very willing to support. “That has resulted in a very high content of apprentices and trainees on site, many of whom are female, which will ultimately benefit Northland and future projects of this scale. Growing skills and trade capability within the district is also important to Council.”
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