Tūrama Sports Hall Albany

Tūrama, meaning ‘enlightenment’ or ‘to illuminate’, designed for Kristin School, is a beautiful multipurpose indoor sports facility. The brief from the client was simple, design a sports hall that is not a sports hall! Having used PVC canopies to cover other sports courts, the school did not want to replicate them again due to issues of wind, water ingress, noise and condensation. But the budget was not high enough for a sports hall – hence the brief. To resolve the issue, we proposed a beautiful lightbox made from lightweight materials that would let in natural daylight, stop wind, rain and condensation and absorb noise using acoustic lining. The structure is designed to withstand water both inside and out – it is waterproof, not watertight and therefore does not have the cost of a sports hall but has all the functionality of one. Internally the design offers an unhindered space of 37m x 53m x 11m high and can be used for multiple indoor sports. It also has further advantages over fabric structures in that it is weatherproof and can therefore be used for functions as well as sports events – giving the school a flexible facility. Facts + Figures Client: Kristin School Charitable Trust Location: Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Construction cost: Confidential Area: 1900m² Programme: Completed 2021 Project Team: Phil Smith, James Browning, Akash Kumar, John Moran Construction: N Cole Construction Engineers: Markplan Consulting Lighting: Enhance Light for Architecture Materials: Forman Building Systems, Alpha Interiors, Hardwood Technology, Ampelite Australia, Metalbilt Doors, Global Engineering