Heretaunga Intermediate School – Technology Block

Our design response oriented the new technology building to run long to Orchard Road, allowing four subjects to be witnessed from the passer-by. The school wanted to acknowledge and celebrate this as a building of technology. The location along the boundary also created a generous internal courtyard and outdoor learning space. Our landscape design is sectioned and representative of the Heretaunga plains when viewed from above. The music room with large garage door opens to a small amphitheater to allow indoor-outdoor performances. It was important for the landscape to be considered as extensions of the learning environment, where science, woodworking, music, art, and food could connect with outdoors. Internal organisation allows for all subject spaces to converge into a shared learning area, where various students can break out into this space and be working alongside students to activate cross pollination of ideas in the arts and technology. This shared learning space is visually connected to every specialist subject space through internal glazed partitions.

2024 NZIA Awards: Education Regional Winner – Gisborne & Hawke’s Bay

2024 NZIA Awards: Resene Colour Award

Project Details

Status: Completed 2022

Client: Ministry of Education

Size: 839 sq.m

Cost: $7M