When new projects push the design boundaries to challenge traditional stereotypes, they will invariably attract attention. The new Albany Senior High School an Arrow International design-and-build contract is such a project, says Connal Townsend, chief executive of the Property Council New Zealand (PCNZ).
"Albany Senior High School raises the bar for high school education in New Zealand," he says. "It offers an exciting glimpse into new possibilities and higher standards that will continue to be set in this sector."
PCNZ Auckland branch president Graeme Birkhead says the council has already earmarked the project as an example of excellence.
"We are always looking to showcase projects that set the benchmark in a particular sector, whether it be in the area of commerce, healthcare or education. This project is significant for a number of reasons. It is the first public senior high school in the country and the integrated learning environment heralds a whole new direction for the Ministry of Education, as well as the teachers and students."
Birkhead says that in terms of its scale and form, the school is more like a commercial project than other new schools, which have usually have more in common with residential design and construction.
"When we showcased the project with an open day, there was an unprecedented amount of interest from a wide cross section of people involved in the design and construction industry. The significance of the project is widely recognised, and deserved."
For the team at Arrow International, working to an extremely tight timeframe provided the greatest challenge. Arrow project manager Craig Brosnan says a required change in site designation and a subsequent protracted Environment Court process, along with a non-negotiable completion date, resulted in a compressed design programme. The timing allowed only two months of design development before work commenced on site.
"We divided the project into 16 building consents, which were lodged progressively. This meant we could keep the design going just ahead of construction sometimes it was only a matter of hours after a consent was granted that work began. The design overlapped construction and vice versa."