Copeland Associates Architects

New Shoots ECEC

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

NEW SHOOTS ECEC

Copeland Associates Architects

LOCATION
Auckland, New Zealand

CATEGORY
Kindergarten, Educational Interiors

AREA
630 m²

YEAR
2021

PHOTOGRAPHS
Kelvin Lim

LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS
One stone Landscapes and Taylor creative construction

MANUFACTURERS
APL NZ, HERMPAC, Polyflor, dormakaba, Enhance lighting, Resene Paint, Starex, Xlam timber cross-laminated construction panels

MEP SERVICES
Ecubed Building Workshop

ECOLOGIST
4sight consulting

LIGHTING DESIGNERS
Enhance Lighting

QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Kwanto Surveyors

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER
KGA Geotechnical engineers

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Establish

CIVIL ENGINEERING
Chester engineering

ARCHITECTS
Barry Copeland

ARCHITECTS REPRESENTATIVE
Marco Duthie

DOCUMENTATION TEAM
Tuhiena Bhaumik, Franklin Mwanza, Tanya Poletayeva

MAIN CONTRACTOR
Peak Construction

FIRE ENGINEERS
Cosgroves

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING COMPANY
Calibre Consulting Limited

INTERIOR AND FURNITURE DESIGN
New Shoots

Text description provided by architect.

Our client New Shoots saw an opportunity in a site which many others thought was unusable. Originally, the site was split into two areas by a stream and had become an abandoned and neglected wasteland that stored and collected motorway run-off. The site was overgrown and an eyesore in an otherwise attractive neighborhood.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

Our brief was to rejuvenate the site by creating a nature-centric design that interweaves environment and classroom, while achieving the client’s programmatic requirements and integrating sustainable practices.

Designs that give a sense of calmness while inviting curiosity through a sensory experience have been proven to provide a powerful platform for growth and learning. These elements were at the forefront of the design approach and explored through materials, form, scale, and layout.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

Upon arrival children walk along an elevated timber bridge over the native plants and rejuvenated wetland and immediately experience a sense of adventure and exploration. Looking around sparks the imagination and fosters a feeling of leaving the everyday and entering a unique world.

The pods are arranged to form a triangular courtyard. This play area is partially protected by a generous translucent veranda, providing diffused light over external links between pods. The roof forms elevate to the east, allowing the morning light to energise the childrens’ activity spaces.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

High-level electrically operated windows provide passive ventilation for natural airflow throughout the day. Rainwater is stored in detention tanks and re-used for flushing toilets and irrigation.

Superstructures are an assembly of cross-laminated timber panels and steel frames; both systems were prefabricated off-site and quickly erected on site.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

Services are discretely organised within each building giving careful thought and consideration to respect the nature of the solid timber construction. Each of the three passively controlled pods has its own colour palette reflecting the world’s primary elements:

Building A: Toddlers (age 2-3) & staff, Nature: Green (Spanish Green and Cabbage Pont), Building B: Infants (age 0-2), Earth: Light Terracotta (Baroque and Sante Fe), Building C: Preschool (age 3-5), Water: Blue (Half Dusted Blue and Navada)

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

Each building's interior has a soft timber backdrop from the exposed structural cross-laminated timber panels. This adds another textural link connecting to the surrounding environment.

Large sections of glazing enhance the site’s elevation, bringing the outside in, and creating a sense of being amongst the trees.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim
New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim

There is a harmonised visual language between architecture, interiors and furniture. This creates a flow of design continuity and wayfinding within the centre.

New Shoots themselves designed bespoke cabinetry to suit interior spaces and respective palettes, reinforcing this flow.

We worked closely with lighting designers to conceive a lighting approach that creatively weaves throughout the spaces, giving soft, curvaceous elements to the orthogonal internal walls.

New Shoots ECEC
© Kelvin Lim


New Shoots ECEC
Floor Plan
New Shoots ECEC
Elevations and Sections Building A
New Shoots ECEC
Elevations and Sections Building B
New Shoots ECEC
Elevations and Sections Building C


New Shoots ECEC
Form Diagram
New Shoots ECEC
Site Design Approach Diagram
New Shoots ECEC
Sustainability Approach Diagram
New Shoots ECEC
Building Components Diagram


New Shoots ECEC
Overall Concept Diagram
New Shoots ECEC
Context Plan Diagram

Copeland Associates Architects
T +64 9 5225259
Copeland Associates Architects
8 Railway Street, Newmarket, Auckland 1023, New Zealand