Established in 1980, the school has grown significantly over its 40 year history, and is now amongst the largest colleges in New Zealand.
In 2018 Pacific Environments were engaged to develop new Technology, Science, Graphics classrooms as well as additional toilet facilities, the latest in a series of improvements to the Macleans built environment that have taken place over the last decade. With a such a large roll, ensuring that the learning environments and timetables were not disrupted by construction was an essential but challenging task. Temporary classrooms are not financially feasible for specialist departments like science and technology, meaning the staging of the construction needed to be managed strategically.
We worked closely with the school and their user groups to develop a 4-stage plan, which would allow the school to operate at full capacity with minimal disruption to students. Each department has their own specific pedagogies, meaning that each class environment is a tailored design solution, the form of the buildings was driven by the desire to naturally ventilate the buildings rather than rely on mechanical ventilation.
The construction stages began with the Technology building followed by Science, Graphics and additional toilet facilities with lessons learned applied to subsequent construction stages to improve buildability.
The master planning phase also needed to consider the pedestrian flow within the campus. With 2,800 students moving between classes at one point in time a high level of spatial planning was essential. The space between the buildings provides essential passive recreation spaces and can also be used as outdoor learning areas.
2 Macleans Road, Eastern Beach, Auckland 2012
Ministry of Education
2023
2023
2022
2024 Learning Environments Australasia New Zealand Chapter Awards, Commendation
2024 New Zealand Commercial Property Awards - Gold Award
2023 Property Awards - Excellence in Education- Entire Development
2022 Property Awards - Merit in Education - Technology Block
The completed buildings provide a safer and more environmentally considerate environment for students. The simple forms of the building allow repetition of detail, and therefore efficiency of materials and speed of construction. Flexibility for future change of use was a key consideration and drove the structural scheme. The documents for the later stages were revised to incorporate lessons learned on the previous stage which increased efficiency in construction, particularly regarding the set out of the services.Collaboration in the learning environment is a key consideration for the MOE, and has been facilitated by incorporating glazed interior walls, that provide acoustic separation and enhance health & safety by creating sightlines throughout the buildings.
The materials selected for internal finishes are robust, to minimise maintenance, as well as attractive. The school tested these materials to ensure they were fit for their purpose. Acoustically absorbent materials were quality assured at every opportunity to mitigate the potential ambient noise. Following the completion of the Science & Technology development Pacific Environments were engaged to prepare a Masterplan for the campus that will serve as a guidance document for future development at the College.
