Projects - Otago University Students’ Association Aquatic Centre

The Otago University Students Association (0USA) Aquatic Centre, a facility for rowing, kayaking and windsurfing, comprises a boatshed, storage areas, changing facilities, erg room, rowing tank, clubrooms and viewing deck. The brief was for safe and efficient facilities which relate to use and place.

The site - a public reserve close to a seawall - is subject to strong southerlies and salinity is high. Building forms and materials were specified for this microclimate, and details and materials are unique to the building’s uses. Views of the harbour are carefully presented to connect building users to the water. Colours and forms are intended to recede into the immediate context, especially when viewed from across the harbour. The aerofoil roof reduces sky glare and enhances the view of the harbour.

The centre hosts New Zealand's only indoor rowing tank, where club members are able to train even when the weather decides not to cooperate. Jets inside the tank make the indoor experience as much like open-water rowing as possible.