“Student accommodation needs to be carefully planned: it can be lonely to be away from the comforts of home for the first time, but it’s also an exciting time, with opportunities to meet new people and enjoy new freedoms. On this site, students who were previously housed in a rather grim nine-storey tower are now dispersed around a series of low-rise blocks. Set amid generous landscaped spaces and sheltered courtyards, these buildings encourage easy social interaction as students move around and through the complex. A more domestic scale, ample natural light and ventilation, and well-planned and articulated access routes across the site help to create a sustainable community.”
Jury Citation
The new Marcellin Champagnat building at St Paul’s College, one of Auckland’s oldest Marist Schools, received an award in the Education category. This new learning environment caters for over 200 students together with administration space and multi-purpose facilities for the school and community.
“The building is the first stage of, and important start to the redevelopment of a school campus to create fit-for-purpose classrooms and administration facilities. Sited in accordance with a masterplan that addresses urban conditions and envisages connected open spaces, the building simply and effectively negotiates site levels, and is configured and articulated to acknowledge the road to the south, the chapel to the east, classrooms and arrival area to the west and playgrounds to the north. Robust materials and a restrained aesthetic imbue the building with a strong yet subdued presence that will allow it to sit well on the street and in the campus for years to come.”
Jury Citation