Case Study: UoA Recreation and Wellness Centre

Project Types: Tertiary Education
Services: Project Management

Context

The University of Auckland has built a new, state-of-the-art Recreation and Wellness Centre, named Hiwa, in the heart of its city campus. This new facility will serve the university’s growing population of over 40,000 students and 4,000 staff. 

It consists of a 1,800sq m outdoor quad, 600sq m atrium, two sports halls, an eight-lane swimming pool and dive tank, weights room, squash courts, rooftop football pitch, and a wide range of other activities to support student wellbeing. 

The design of Hiwa acknowledges its role as the future focal point of the campus, a vital nexus through which seamless connectivity between learning, sporting, and social areas is facilitated. The external facade features glazed curtain walls with vertical sunshades and metal rainscreen cladding to the upper levels of the building, resulting in simple, bold architectural strokes that convey Hiwa’s contemporary character and unique role within the campus.  

To deliver the landmark development, the university engaged Colliers Project Leaders at the commencement of the preliminary design phase to provide design and project management services.

The team worked collaboratively with the UoA, Hawkins, Warren and Mahoney, Beca, MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Thermosash, Mott Macdonald, Rider Levett Bucknall, D&H Steel Construction, and over 20 consultants to deliver this flagship project. 

Action

The project was long in the making and the outstanding progress made in challenging conditions can be credited to the project set-up and leadership along with an excellent design/construction team.

The challenging client brief called for the creation of a state-of-the-art facility designed to accommodate a large and diverse range of users. This resulted in a unique design that introduced several New Zealand firsts. No one area was the same, meaning the development of each respective space resembled its own mini project where the team was required to learn and adapt to a whole new set of challenges, principles, and methodologies. The strong collaborative culture fostered across all parties was the primary reason for success.

Leadership through the design coordination phase was vital to ensuring the design stayed on programme and delivered the expected outcome.

The building structure is headlined by 900mm box beams in a diagrid structure, which required intensive planning and a comprehensive methodology to bring the unprecedented structure to life.

CPL made it a priority to procure the critical contractors as early as possible, knowing there would be complex logistical arrangements to overcome in regard to material procurement and transportation.

The project began with the careful programming and delicate deconstruction of the former recreation centre. This building was nestled tightly between several other occupied buildings, some of which housed sensitive scientific machinery. Demolition was coordinated around the use of this machinery with the assistance of noise reduction hoardings between the science facility and deconstruction zone.

The detailed planning of this phase included asbestos removal, fire services separation, walkway creation and protection, and acoustic protection hoarding up to 10 levels. Key to the success of this phase was close stakeholder engagement and a rigorous focus on health and safety.

Early identification and management of key risks through the construction phase was a strong focus, including navigating the challenging market conditions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdowns and subsequent global supply chain issues. This was facilitated by the cooperative and collaborative relationship between the client, consultant team, and contractor, allowing the project team to mitigate delays despite significant lead time issues, with materials being supplied from all around the world including China (structural steel), USA (Natare Pool and Thermosash glass), and Germany (Lindner ceilings, ASB GlassFloor, and squash courts).

Result

Colliers Project Leaders are immensely proud to be part of the team that delivered the Hiwa, creating a legacy, of state-of-the-art facilities that will significantly enhance the campus experience for the future generations of students.

The highly collaborative culture within the project team permeated every stage of the development and was the key driver of success - a testament to what can be achieved with open and engaged communication.

Image credit: Mark Scowen