Massey University College of Creative Arts

Athfield Architects and Dunning Thornton

Athfield Architects has been engaged by Massey University to design a new teaching block for the College of Creative Arts (CoCA) on the Wellington campus.

Massey University College of Creative Arts

The project will provide flexible studio teaching space as well as classrooms, workshop, green-screen film studio, gallery and a multipurpose presentation space. The project is due for completion in June 2012.

The College of Creative Arts building has a linear building form and is designed to step down through the contours of the site. A central circulation stair and adjacent gallery spaces provide a new connection across the University campus and creates a public interface for the Creative Arts College. Lower levels recessed into the landform house the more cellular spaces such as workshop, green screen and multipurpose presentation space. The upper three floor levels are supported by a lightweight timber frame structure that house the flexible studio teaching spaces.

Key Construction Features include:

LVL timber columns and beams designed as a post tensioned seismic frame.
Pre cambered composite floor units combining LVL joists and 100mm thick concrete slab, prefabricated off site as 7.2x2.4m wide flooring units and craned into place and serve as the finished floor in the studios.
Pre-stressed precast concrete shear walls taking earthquake load in the longitudinal direction. Located adjacent to stairwells and services areas enabling remaining floor areas to remain as open and flexible as possible.
Naturally ventilated building with central ventilation and light shafts limiting cooling and artifical lighting loads.
Area of green roof limiting stormwater run off from the site.

Project Location:
Wellington, New Zealand

Engineers:
Dunning Thornton

Management Contractor:
Arrow International