Waimea College

Placed in the corner of a widespread school campus, the teaching blocks are stages 1 and 2 of a masterplan that reorganises the school from what were just buildings within a car park to a social place for learning. A new courtyard is overlooked by a generous three-metre veranda that runs the length of both blocks. The large 8.5m open span off the end of the shear walls provides uninterrupted space that can be adjusted if the needs of the school change during the lifetime of the building. Engineered timber has been adopted as the sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, Waimea R block superstructure is estimated to have 36% less gross embodied carbon when compared to a conventional reference building.