New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/02C | Page 51

Below:The elegant facade of the
new Centennial Building at King’s
School offers a transparent
welcome to students, parents
and teachers alike. The modern
learning facility was designed by
architects Warren and Mahoney.
Open-plan, young children learning facilities
have many advantages, but close connection to
the teacher and a strong sense of place aren’t
always among them. The King’s School Centennial
Building offers the school open, flexible spaces
but not at the expense of individual classrooms.
Perhaps the key word in terms of school design
isn’t so much openness as flexibility.
The new Centennial Building by architects
Warren and Mahoney presents a major new facility
at the heart of the school. It brings the school an
additional 5000m 2 of large, light-filled classrooms,
music studios and breakout areas.
Headmaster Tony Sissons says that while there
were many requirements to consider, core to the
brief to Warren and Mahoney was the importance
of human relationships in a school environment –
particularly those between student and teacher.
“I’ve always believed students need to maintain
a close relationship with the classroom teacher and
have a strong connection with a single class. I don’t
believe the trend towards open-plan learning envi-
ronments is beneficial to young children’s learning.”
“This four-level, state-of-the-art flagship building
at the heart of our school allows a flow from large
light-filled individual classrooms, which provide a
sense of place, into open flexible spaces,” says
Sissons. “The design offers the best of both worlds
– it continues to offer personalised teaching in a
classroom setting but also allows students to work
collaboratively in groups outside the classroom.”
The central location, scale and brief for the
Centennial Building provided the opportunity to both
create optimal learning environments and improve
the connectivity of the school, says Warren and
Mahoney project architect Sarah Hewlett-Diprose.
The building interior is crisscrossed by a central
atrium and a pedestrian internal street running the
length of the building. Bridges and stairs connect
areas across these three level-high accessways.
From the ground floor up, the more flexible open-
plan spaces front onto the street, feeding off and
adding to the dynamism and energy of the space.
State of the art natural lighting design and acoustics
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