Seatoun School

Tennent Brown Architects with Bevin and Slessor Architects

The design strategy responds foremost to the extreme exposure of the site, providing sheltered outdoor space for prevailing winds while allowing for internal air circulation.

The classrooms are laid out in a north-facing curve, which softens the institutional planning. The arrangement of exterior timber claddings, particularly on the west and north elevations, represents the most innovative use of timber on the project. Slatted boards on aluminium top-hat sections and vertical ship-lap and rusticated weatherboards are arranged to enliven and characterise the otherwise large, flat façades. Sliding shutters of slatted boards cover the western windows to control the high heat loads and add interest to the composition. Slatted wind and sun screens are utilised extensively throughout the school. Lawson cypress was selected as a sustainable timber to be used on the building.

Location:

Wellington, New Zealand

Awards:

2003 NZIA Resene, New Zealand Awards for Architecture

Structural engineers:

Clendon Burns and Park

Reference:

Architecture New Zealand, September/October 2002, pp 25–30

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