104 | Sheppard and Rout Architects: Opuke Thermal Pools and Spa T T Kim Newth NZIA award for Methven project Sheppard and Rout Architects won a NZIA National Award for Commercial Architecture for the Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa in Methven. ARCHITECTURE It was a big night for Christchurch’s Sheppard and Rout Architects at the 2022 New Zealand Architecture Awards, held in the Christchurch Town Hall last November. Their team was honoured to receive a NZIA National Award for Commercial Architecture for the Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa in Methven. “Only three buildings in New Zealand won a national commercial architecture award; we are proud to have been the architects for one of those three,” says Jasper van der Lingen, Director of Sheppard & Rout Architects, who oversaw the project from start to finish, working with project architects Matt Gutsell (Associate Director) and Max Warren (Associate) and other members of the team. Sheppard & Rout also won a 2022 Canterbury Architecture Award for the Ōpuke pools. The practice was originally selected for this regionally significant project after winning a design competition run by the clients. What set their concept apart was the embedding of a Canterbury journey into the building design. That journey starts with travelling across the flat Canterbury Plains to Methven. Entry into the building then feels a little like going into a gorge like the Rakaia. “It narrows and gets dark and there are concrete walls on either side. You then follow that through until you pop out the other end, and it’s like you have arrived in the mountains and found hot pools. This is the central concept that drove the whole design.” That sense of a journey can even be experienced in the changing areas, designed for one-way only entry and exit. The client’s brief was to design a premium hot pools experience providing both family fun and exclusive, upmarket adult relaxation. From the entrance, there is split access to family and adults-only areas, each located on different sides of the building with separate changing rooms. Adults can enjoy tranquillity pools and a swim-up bar or indulge in high end day spa treatments, while families splash around Ōpuke’s discovery pools, plunge pools and starry caves. Prominent use of wood – including in the roof grid structure of LVL beams and the beech clad interior - reflects Sheppard and Rout’s commitment to sustainability in this project. Given that a central driver was to help boost regional tourism and growth, Sheppard and Rout also sought ways to support the local economy as the project developed. “Timber is a renewable resource that’s good for the environment; we sourced ours from locally grown trees through a South Island company, Nelson Pine.” This whole project is a stand-out for sustainable tourism, being the first thermal pools operation in the country to be powered by a solar field serving as the primary water heating system. Sheppard and Rout’s team paid close attention to pool interface areas, such as the café’s deck that extends right to the edge of the pools. “It means parents can have a coffee and the kids can be in the pools next to them. We tried to integrate the whole experience as much as possible. “We are thankful for the wider team who played such key roles, including the project managers, (Joseph & Associates), structural engineers (Ruamoko Solutions,) and builders (Bradford Building).” Sheppard and Rout Architects cater to a wide range of sectors and has a strong track record in tourism. Structural | Mechanical | Electrical | Fire | Civil | Hydraulic | Acoustic | Pool Water | Sustainability 03 366 1777 | engineering@pfc.co.nz | pfc.co.nz Proud to provide engineering services for Sheppard & Rout Architects
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=