Supreme Commercial Project Award goes to school

Winning project team for Te Raekura Redcliffs School overcame major challenges to achieve a result that benefits children as well as the community

Constructed by Naylor Love Canterbury and their project

A stand-out feature is an integration of playscapes

The new school contains wool wall insulation and

The new campus includes 13 teaching spaces, administration

For the second year in a row, a Christchurch school has been awarded the Supreme Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project 2021 Awards.

Te Raekura Redcliffs School, constructed by Naylor Love Canterbury and their project partners, took out the top award along with the Construction Marketing Services Education Category Award and the Commercial Project over $15m Value Award.

The $18.5 million school campus opened in June 2020 after almost nine years at a temporary site following the Canterbury earthquakes. The new campus includes 13 teaching spaces, administration areas, a library, a multipurpose hall, and playgrounds.

The new school contains wool wall insulation and PV panels. It also features CarboNZero certified and NZ recyclable interface carpet tiles.

A stand-out feature is an integration of playscapes throughout the school grounds rather than being just in isolated playgrounds. Cubby holes are also set into the vertical face of the decking to provide quieter ‘chill out’ play spaces for kids.

Key challenges included difficult site conditions, such as liquefaction, lateral spread, flood plain, coastal inundation zone, in-ground tanks, and contamination.

The winning project team was tasked with the challenge of constructing a new school on top of an important archaeological site. The area was home to one of the largest Māori settlements in the South Island.

Judges' comments

The construction team behind this project worked creatively alongside a group of archaeologists to ensure that the rich history of this important location was not lost.

There was an impressive community effort in achieving this project.

The team never lost sight of their end goal, despite operating from an alternative school site for several years.

Te Raekura Redcliffs School obtained maximum value from the earthquake insurance pay out to achieve facilities well beyond what otherwise would have been possible.

The construction team worked very closely with the school community, consultant team and residential neighbours to achieve a fantastic result, benefiting both school children and also the wider community.