Auckland Grammar School Gymnasium

Client:
Board of Trustees, Auckland Grammar School

Location:
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Completion:
2006

Project Value:
$7.5m

Contact:
Carsten Auer

The major element of the gymnasium is a 36m x 36m volume with provision for volleyball, badminton, basketball and a full range of gymnastic facilities. A linear arrangement of support facilities wraps two sides of the gym volume: changing rooms, entry foyer and equipment storage on the lower level, and viewing galleries with office and teaching spaces on the upper level.

One of the key drivers in the design was to provide flush playing surfaces to the internal facades of the gym proper. This fundamental concept was carried through from inception to completion, informing the architectural detailing, material selection and integration of structure and services.

The gymnasium is sited on the edge of the Number 1 rugby field, overlooking the basalt cliff to the lower fields and the southern motorway beyond. The linear brick façade, with its band of clerestory glazing beneath a floating roof, is clearly visible from the motorway.

The chosen materials and colours reflect the context of the gymnasium; the undulating brick façade speaks to the adjacent Specialist Block with its oblique folded brick openings (a previous Architectus project completed in 2004) and recalls the volcanic origins of the site and the conceptual idea of shifted terrains.

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“An air of serene calm pervades this latest project by Architectus, in contrast to the generally hormone-saturated world of a boys’ school where food and dead socks litter the grounds and jostling groups of teenagers tear around the place.”