Open for business
On Monday, 5,000 AUT students will walk through the doors of a new state-of-the-art Business school.
The building will house around 6,000 students in 37 classrooms, two case rooms and seven seminar rooms over 10,000m2 of
purpose-built space.
Each teaching floor has wireless online access and classrooms are equipped with data shows, document cameras, DVD and
VCR players, surround sound, guest laptop capabilities and individual laptops for the students. The fully integrated
system is operated from a touch pad control panel fitted to the lecturer desk.
AUT's use of cutting edge technology supports the universities commitment to innovative and dynamic learning, says
Professor Des Graydon, Dean of the Business Faculty.
“We’ve sharpened up our act to meet the demand of today’s students. We’re providing to undergraduates what top
international schools provide for their postgraduates,” he says
Meeting room-style round tables in every classroom will shift focus away from the lecturer onto other students, says
Professor Graydon. This will open the gateway to debate and challenge to deliver AUT’s student-centred learning teaching
philosophy.
“On the first day of their degree students will sit facing each other not in lecture theatre rows with 400 other people.
It mirrors the real world of business which is about integration and relationships.”
“We aim to get top learning from our students,” says Professor Graydon. “Our graduates will demonstrate this.”
Associate Dean of the Business Faculty Jenny Bygrave says students are being taught to interrogate information and
challenge the status quo.
“They have to be active; they have to get under the surface. In short, they have to think. Our classrooms have been
designed to deliver this learning and teaching philosophy,” she says.
Architects Jasmax have created a building which celebrates AUT's integration and connection with the city, says Euan Mac
Kellar, Jasmax director.
“The building form is articulated as a woven basket prised apart to reveal the community using the space within. The
concept of layering and weaving is expressed in a strong yet simple form,” he says.
“Whilst the weaving offers a sense of enclosure from the outside, it celebrates openness and connection from the
inside.”
LCD screen notice boards in the teaching floor foyers will deliver real-time information to students. The eight screens
worth $70,000 have been donated by Cyclone Computers and are integral in linking the faculty’s student and academic
community.
Additional building features include a computer lab, informal seating areas, extra study space, student kitchen
facilities, drinking fountains and a licensed café which seats 100 people.
New Zealand arts patron James Wallace will provide art from his private 4000-piece collection for use throughout the
building. Pieces will be chosen by Desna Jury, Head of Art and Design. The carpet in classrooms and seminar rooms has
been designed by an AUT student.
Go on a virtual tour. Click on the ‘Watch now!’ image (at the bottom of the page):
http://www.aut.ac.nz/schools/business/school_overview/new_business_building.htm
View the image gallery slideshow:
http://gallery.aut.ac.nz/slideshow.php?set_albumName=Business-Building
ENDS