For immediate release
24 February 2009

Whangarei’s new police station – a special design brief

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There is a lot more to the new police headquarters in Whangarei than first meets the eye. In its commanding position on the corner Walton and Cameron Streets, this striking new building provides a much-needed central hub for police operations in the region and presents a welcoming face to the community.

Well before project completion the engineers and architects involved had developed a strong appreciation and respect for the challenging nature of police work.

As Beca’s Rod Slater said: “We believe Whangarei police deserve the best workplace possible. It has been an honour for us to have played a part in making an excellent working environment for these men and women.”

Extensive interviews between the architects and New Zealand Police took place at the planning stages of the building and laid the groundwork for a distinctive and successful design. High expectations from the police drove the building layout and ultimately inspired the exterior for this hub station.

Three key objectives governed the design of the building’s façade: first, to present a welcoming and friendly exterior to the general public; second, to create a feeling of solidity and security; and third, to produce a building design worthy of its position at a focal entry point to the city.

Windows are used sparingly on the ground level but increase proportionally each floor upwards. The combination of windows, canopies, textured chevron patterns and colours accentuate the horizontal nature of the building.

This horizontality is broken with a strong vertical element of glass and signage that highlights the public entry at the corner intersection. Use of glass with aluminium and precast panels provides a robust façade with minimal maintenance requirements.

The chevron theme symbolises not only the hills around Whangarei but also the roof of a home.

Tinted glass, sunscreens, canopies and cornices to reduce heat gain and sun strike from the outside are combined with clearstory windows, natural ventilation and acoustic insulation inside the building to provide a positive and productive working environment.

The station is designed to remain operational in the event of earthquakes and water above the 200 year flood level. With 20 cells, 3700m2 of space and staff finally all under one roof, Whangarei’s purpose-built police headquarters is now in a position to serve its community and its occupants long into the future.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The new police headquarters replaces four 1960’s buildings spread over two sites. It will house about 180 staff.

Located in the CBD of Whangarei, this three-storey building has 3700m2 of occupiable space.

The building’s official opening day is Tuesday 24 February 2009.

Its budget was $22.5million.

Northland regional police headquarters staff will remain in their Walton St Plaza offices.

Project managers – Davis Langdon
Architects - Beca Architects
Civil engineers – Richardson Stevens
Structural, building, geotechnical and fire engineers – Beca
Quantity surveyors – PHC
Contractor – Watts and Hughes

About Beca

Beca was established in New Zealand in 1918 with three employees. 90 years later, Beca has a substantial Asia Pacific footprint operating from three market hubs in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. With offices in 10 countries employing approximately 2,500 staff, Beca has grown to become the largest New Zealand, employee-owned professional services company.

Working in four key markets, industrial, infrastructure, buildings and the public sector, Beca designs and supervises projects delivering engineering services, planning, project management, applied technologies and valuation services, architecture, GIS and surveying, cost estimating and asset management. In the last five years Beca has won more than 60 awards and was ranked 85th in the Top 200 International Design Firms in the 2008 Engineering News Record Magazine.

Recent projects include terminal expansion at the Wellington and Auckland international airports, Britomart Transport Centre in Auckland, Westpac Stadium in Wellington, Sky Tower and Casino Centre in Auckland, Manukau Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mangere, Auckland City Hospital and the 338m Macau Tower.

www.beca.com

ENDS

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