Friday 6 November 2020 2:51pm
The new Te Rangi Hiroa College will be the first wholly University-owned college built in 50 years.
Work is due to begin on the first purpose-built University of Otago Residential College in more than 50 years – one that will deliver an enriching bicultural living experience in a five-star Green Star sustainable setting.
Contractors plan to start excavating the site of the new 450-bed Te Rangi Hiroa College on the corner of Albany and Forth Streets later this month, with the project on track to deliver a state-of-the-art living facility for completion in 2023.
It’s an exciting prospect to undertake the first wholly University-owned college build in half a century, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Willis says.
“I can see it will result in a range of benefits in terms of sustainability as well as the fantastic cultural narrative encompassed in the building’s design, and that I’m very pleased working with iwi on that design has resulted in such a striking outcome.”
Office of Māori Development Project Manager Matt Matahaere (Ngāi Tahu), Upoko of Ōtākou Marae Edward Ellison, and University of Otago Chancellor Royden Somerville attend a whakawātea ceremony on the new Te Rangi Hiroa site.
The new college is intended to replace the existing 125-bed Te Rangi Hiroa College, which is within the new Dunedin Hospital precinct, and its name and identity will transfer to the new facility.
Descendants of Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck), the University’s first Māori medical graduate, gifted the use of his name for the existing college, which opened in 2014, and the new facility design involved input from Te Rangi Hiroa’s Ngāti Mutunga iwi and local iwi Ngāi Tahu.
The building showcases an impressive use of Māori artwork inside and out, including 3D façade panels in a Kao Kao pattern, a ceiling pattern creating a central ‘heartline’ flowing from the entry to the Whare Kai (dining hall), bluestone wall paving with embedded names of Parihaka prisoners, curated taonga placed throughout the building, and Te Rangi Hiroa cursive script incorporated into signage.
When complete, it will encompass six levels over four wings and will include 125 en-suite rooms, professional college staff accommodation, reception and offices, dining hall and kitchen, and multi-functional communal spaces.
The project will boost the University’s number of residential beds by 325.
It aims to achieve an internationally recognised 5 Star Green Star rating, possibly the first for a residential university college in New Zealand.
A Green Star rating means the project has met or exceeded best practice benchmarks across the environmental criteria.
Its sustainable design includes ventilation to provide air quality, acoustic treatment to internal spaces to provide acoustic comfort, glare reduction to provide lighting comfort, access to public transport, storm water attenuation, efficient sanitary fixtures, and continuous tuning of building services systems.
The project will boost the University’s number of residential beds by 325, enabling Otago to cater for some of the predicted growth in first–year enrolments. The total estimate for design, construction, furnishings and overheads is in the order of $100m.
A whakawātea, or ‘clearing of the way’ ceremony has been performed on the site this week, led by Ūpoko of Ōtākau Marae, Edward Ellison.
Campus Development Division Senior Project Manager Simon Dalton says contractors will start excavating and hardfilling the site later this month in anticipation of commencing piling before Christmas.
The college build is one of four cornerstone projects prioritised by the university for the coming five years.
Other cornerstone projects:
•Christchurch School of Medicine Redevelopment
•Food Sciences Redevelopment
•Wellington School of Medicine minor refurbishment