New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/01C | Page 66

and rising to cap the ground floor and pave the
atrium and external courtyard – signifying the public
spaces within the precinct.”
The first floor, the primary public interface, is
finished in full-height glazing. This forms a visual
break between the bluestone plinth and the light-
coloured, limestone-clad blades that bookend each
of the courtrooms on the upper levels of the Courts
Building. In between each pair of courtrooms, inter-
nal spaces dedicated to services and circulation,
are clad in aluminium panelling.
The facade treatments mean you can ‘read’
where the courts are from the street, while the
stepped surfaces and blades play down the build-
ing’s bulk, giving it a more human scale.
Warm-look timber-battened soffits and ceiling
panels provide a softer contrast to the stone and
glass, and connect to the extensive use of timber in
the courtrooms. The timber surfaces also delineate
public waiting areas and circulation spaces.
“The emergency services building shares a
common design philosophy with the Courts
Building, but has subtly different materials and an
architectural language tuned to reflect the distinc-
tion between the civic and service wings of the
complex,” says Warring. “The cladding differences
between buildings gives external expression to the
necessary constitutional separation between Police
and an independent judiciary.”
Ministry chief executive Andrew Bridgman says
he is impressed that the many specialist and sensi-
tive operational areas have been delivered.
“It’s an impressive building for the people work-
ing in it and for visitors,” Bridgman says.
These pages:The Matapopore
Charitable Trust was engaged on
behalf of Ngai Tuahuriri to provide
detailed input into the design,
ensuring cultural values and
narratives were embedded into
the Precinct. The Ministry project
team worked with the trust to
develop two designs for the
Precinct’s facade – an aluminium
interpretation of a traditional
feather cloak, located on the
outer facade of the Operational
Car Park, and the huia feather
design on the Courts Building’s
west-facing court windows.