Te Pā Tauira – Otago Polytechnic Student Village has 231 beds in two wings of student accommodation, with single and single ensuite bedrooms in the five-storey west wing and a mixture of studios and four-bedroom apartments in the four-storey east wing, along with open-plan communal spaces.
Otago Polytechnic was keen to complete the project following the principles of the Living Building Challenge, a rigorous international sustainable building certification program. The use of strong, lightweight cross-laminated timber for the structure was key to achieving this goal. This ground-breaking building is the largest laminated wood building, by volume, in the country, and the tallest of its kind.
The pre-fabricated panels of Forest Stewardship Council-certified NZ pine arrived on site ready for our team to assemble like a giant jigsaw. The innovative materials and meticulous planning by our site team cut the programme down to just 15 months, with entire floors completed in a matter of days.
