Massey University Student Amenities Centre

The new Student Amenities Centre for the Albany, Auckland campus offers a unique opportunity for Massey University. Located as the campus heart, it will effectively act as a ‘home base and town square’ for student life and ‘student centric’ in terms of the building use and location. The building design provides open, informal, engaging and convenient facilities which serve student life. 

The social and cultural aspects have been considered into the building design where students essentially adopt the buildings as one of their own. For this to be successful, the building must not only provide flexible internal spaces but also create comfortable outdoor space which is part of the ground floor food & beverage and retail support environment. 

It is proposed that both the functional and financial parameters suggest an approach which is both ‘systems driven’ and contemporary while also recognising the particularly character of the Albany campus. The building plan is simple and rigorous. Two ‘bars’ of space are collocated in parallel with vertical circulation centred between. Each bar has a rhythm of columns at the perimeter, leaving the internal spaces column free for flexibility. The classical rhythm of colonnaded buildings typical of the campus is strongly reinforced while also generating a deliberately open and accessible building.