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A vibrant student hub that challenges the norm for student accommodation

Waipārūrū Hall

Project
Waipārūrū Hall
Client
University of Auckland
Location
Auckland
Completion
2020
Sector
Education and Research
Waipārūrū Hall provides enhanced experiences to 786 University of Auckland students, strengthening the University of Auckland's masterplan of creating a student precinct on Whitaker Place. The project challenges the norm for student accommodation. Catered for Gen Z and the future Gen Alpha students, it creates an environment that fosters learning and encourages a culture of diversity and inclusiveness.

Amalgamating functions encourages interaction between students.  By removing thresholds and overlapping spatial experiences, Waipārūrū Hall creates opportunities for students to meet, study and socialise in ways that best fit their needs, both now and in the future. Furniture is flexible and can be adapted to suit evolving student needs. Seclusion can be found deeper into the floor plate, where the built spaces reside; or the Fringe offers inviting soft seating bathed in natural light as a tranquil space to relax or focus.

The design has been developed on the notion of ‘Live, Learn, Eat’ influenced by pedagogy, workplace, customer experience and hospitality design.

Waipārūrū Hall is located on a marginal piece of land at the city centre’s periphery. The topography of the site presented unique planning challenges. With a 45-degree slope, 104m street frontage and only 37m wide at its widest point the design needed to respond to these difficult constraints. In addition, two significant cables pass beneath the site, providing power and telecommunications to the city centre – greatly impacting the structural design of the building.

Precast concrete cladding panels provide the acoustic performance required, remaining authentic to their origin in appearance and utilising texture and articulation to activate the façade as a result of the sun’s path. Coloured aggregate and admixtures c
A post tensioned concrete structure supports the building fabric. This efficient and resilient frame sits within two excavations and straddles between them to avoid the in-ground cables. 

Collective Effort

Collective Effort

Scott Compton
Head of Design, Principal
Auckland
Arron O'Hagan
Senior Associate
Auckland
David Hoad
Senior Associate
Sydney
Brendan Hight
Senior Associate
Christchurch
Awards
2021 NZIA National Awards - Housing (Multi) 2021 Property Council New Zealand Awards - Multi-Unit Residential - Excellence 2021 NZIA Auckland Architecture Award — Colour 2021 NZIA Auckland Architecture Award — Housing Multi 2020 Designers Institute of NZ Best Awards - Silver - Public + Institutional Spaces/Built Environments 2020 Designers Institute of NZ Best Awards - Silver - Colour Award Spatial
Contact
Talk to us about your project. Tell us what you need. How we can help. We draw on a depth of disciplines from across our studio, bringing the right people together to deliver the best result. Contact us

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