University of Auckland - School of Engineering Library and Student Centre

Client:

University of Auckland

Location:

Auckland

Completed:

2006

Awards:

2007 NZIA Local Award: Educational

2007 Resene Colour Award

2007 NZIA Property Council Merit Award

2007 Engineering Excellence Awards: Finalist in Construction and Sustainability

“Let there be light.”

The complex brief involved the refurbishment and extension of an existing three Level 6,000m² wing of the School of Engineering complex to house an expanded 2,000m² Library, a new 24hr Group Study complex and a new Student and Admin Centre that would form the ‘Public’ front door of the school.  The School and Library was required to be fully operational during the project.

A careful and measured design philosophy was used to respect the brutalist concrete forms of the existing building and to satisfy the City’s Urban Heritage controls that overlay the site. Adopting the lightness of touch and transparency of materials used in the School of Engineering Atrium Project this sensitive design delivers controlled daylight into the heart of the Library, explores the expansive views available, and reinforces the building’s street-scape presence within the wider urban university precinct. The transparent connection of the library to the street reinforces the sense of student life within the campus.