Building For The Next Generation

Arrow International: Building For The Next Generation
12 February 2010

New Zealand’s first senior secondary school is open for business on Auckland’s North Shore and it doesn’t just push the boundaries for new schools, it breaks them.

The Ministry of Education challenged Arrow International to transform a bush clad four-hectare site on Albany Highway with an ecologically important stream running through it into a state-of-the-art secondary school that can cater for up to 1,300 students (Years 11–13). .
Added to this already complicated mix was the restoration of a heritage school building that has been located on site since 1897.

The 20,000m2 five-storey Jasmax designed school comprises of two levels of car parking and three levels of learning communities with specialist areas for the likes of art, science, hard tech, media, dance & music, a separate gymnasium complex with a sports field and hard courts.

Over the course of 13-months, the construction team at Arrow International dealt with this complex project and ambitious timeframe with integrity and passion, producing a school built for the next generation where students and staff are fully integrated with flexible and open learning spaces which allows for innovative learning to take place.

Albany Senior High School Project Director, Craig Brosnan says the scale of what the Arrow team has accomplished is something he is still coming to terms with.

“In this fast moving environment, it is often difficult to keep your perspective on what is being achieved on a daily basis. It’s not until the end of the project, when there is time to step back and reflect, that you fully understand the enormity of your teams’ efforts. The Albany Senior High School project has been challenging and ultimately extremely rewarding.”

Barbara Cavanagh, Foundation Principal of Albany Senior High, says that working with the Arrow team has been a huge success.

“The collaborative approach of partnership and consultation implemented by Arrow, enabled all the stakeholders to be involved and was extremely effective. Adding to this, the sheer speed at which the project has been completed has left a lasting impression on me and my staff.”

ENDS

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