14 | McCoy & Wixon Architects: New Pak’n Save Christchurch T T Kim Newth Landmark Pak’nSave store for Christchurch The store is flanked on both sides by a sweeping gable roof. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT McCoy and Wixon Architects are known for creating buildings that function beautifully. Their latest project - a landmark Pak’nSave store in Christchurch, soon to open at 171 Main North Road – effortlessly embodies that approach. “This represents another step forward in our supermarket design ethos,” says McCoy Wixon Director Niko Young, who led the project’s design development. “With every project, we try to make it more efficient in terms of operational planning and function. This will be a very efficient working supermarket and we’re looking forward to its completion in February 2024. It is always good to see a project like this through to the finish.” McCoy and Wixon Architects is an award winning, design-led practice with an impressive track record in both commercial and residential design. Their project portfolio includes exceptional residential houses as well as heritage, health and educational facilities along with various supermarkets across the South Island. The studio won an NZIA award for Pak’n Save Blenheim in 2013 along with NZ Commercial Project Awards for Durham St New World (2020), Three Parks New World (2021) and Invercargill Pak’Save extensions earlier this year. This latest McCoy Wixon-designed Pak’nSave store has a 6263sqm footprint with mezzanine office space and occupies a prominent corner site by Foodstuffs South Island’s head office on Main North Rd and a cluster of shops on Northcote Rd. Once open, shoppers will have no difficulty finding it: the store frontage, facing Main North Rd, includes a 30-metre yellow floating wall panel with the Pak’nSave signage, flanked on both sides by a sweeping gable roof. Carparks are conveniently laid out in front of the store and include four EV charging stations, 18 cycle parks as well as six e-bike parks and 14 secure staff bike parks. Public safety has been prioritised in the design, with service areas separate from public carpark and public entry areas. Pedestrian footpaths will provide easy access to the supermarket. “The building envelope shapes the public entry, guiding people inside. The front edge is covered by deep canopies so pedestrians are under cover, protected from weather along the front of the building.” For this project, Foodstuffs saw an opportunity to establish a resilient emergency food hub that could support the community in the event of a natural disaster. The new supermarket has been designed and built as an IL3 building – in other words, a building of high importance, with seismic performance to match. Steel structural elements are highlighted in the façade, reinforcing this building’s resilient character. “There are freshwater storage tanks to supply water in times of emergency, on-site generators that can run the whole market in the event of a power failure, there are photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof and the building location itself is very central with a direct link to the city centre via Main North Road.” In line with Foodstuffs green building aspirations, this new supermarket features not only solar panels but also Argon filled low-E double glazing throughout, efficient Co2 refrigeration systems (with no CFC coolants), heat recovery systems and energy efficient LED light fittings. “In terms of insulation, it was designed well above New Zealand Building Code standards at the time. This was prior to the recent H1 changes [regulating the energy efficiency of the buildings] and is compliant with the current H1 changes. It is a very well insulated building envelope.” Care has been taken in the design to visually break up the building mass along the residential and office facing boundaries using a variation of materials such as textured precast panels complemented with landscaped planted edges. Extensive high-level glazing on the south elevation provides abundant natural light within the market, complemented by full height glazing along the front eastern façade. RMM enjoy a creative working partnership with Foodstu s (South Island) Ltd and McCoy &Wixon Architects Wellington
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