By WSP Architecture
NZIA Western Branch Award Winner 2020 - Commercial Architecture
The Te Ao Nui building sets a new standard for quality commercial office space in Palmerston North. Driven by the requirements of the combined Horizons Regional Council and Palmerston North City Council Emergency Operations Centre and the main tenant, Inland Revenue, the Importance Level Four (IL4) building provides a significantly enhanced facility to meet the important resilence requirements for the local and government agencies and private tenants while offering large open plan flexible office floor plates.
Located on a fringe CBD site, the mixed-use and transformative state of Victoria Avenue meant careful attention and detailing was required to help reduce the apparate scale of the building while adding visual interest to the street elevation. External materials and the building colour scheme was drawn from the local environment with touches of brightness added to provide the building it’s own unique character. Located adjacent to a residential neighbourhood the building also needed to help transition from the lower scale houses to the west and north of the site with the new commercial developments to the east of the tree-lined Victoria Avenue. To achieve this the three-level building volume has been divided into two main volumes separated by the main building entrance and lobby. The volumes have been further articulated to break down their scale through the use of pop-out glazed boxes. The front volume was further articulated through a range of building elements including the glass street canopy, the scale and colour of the cladding material and use of multi-coloured fins, which also help provide shading to the office interior.
Internally, a low displacement structural design solution was chosen as a pragmatic and robust solution that helped to contribute to the architectural concept while simplifying the design of secondary building elements to comply with the IL4 movement criteria. This been achieved through the use of large concrete shear walls, distributed around the perimeter of the building with two central cores.
The IL4 design criteria also drove the enhancement of the building systems. The EOC requires enhanced levels of redundancy with on-site power generation, potable water storage and sewage retention to allow the EOC to remain operational for several days after a 1 in 500-year seismic event.
Incorporating all the elements above, the resulting Te Ao Nui building provides a vital hub that promotes connection, strengthens partnerships and provides a modern and resilient building that helps to protect the local community.
Creating what matters for future generations is the philosophy that underpins our core values and how we approach our architectural commissions.
We have over 150 years of history as a public architecture practice. Our acquired knowledge and skills over this time are coupled with continual research and innovation. Coupled with our wide project experience we apply this in our design work to create efficient, resilient, sustainable solutions benefiting the communities across New Zealand.
Our history is embedded in our core values focusing on the public good and creating an enduring legacy. With this in mind we build our relationships allowing us to engage and collaborate closely with our clients. We explore with openness and transparency, to deliver the best solution with integrity and responsibility, and valuing the natural environment and resources.
We are proud of having contributed to developing the vertical and horizontal infrastructure and environments that our nation relies upon over the last 150 years history and we continue our vision to create what matters to future generations.