Projects - Te Tumu - School of Maori, Pacific & Indigenous Studies

Te Tumu, the School of Maori, Pacific & Indigenous Studies, had been squeezed into the small building on the edge of the Burns carpark without a building to call their own. All this changed in 2006, when the initial Te Tumu building was completed to house the School in the University of Otago.

A number of years later, they were ready for stage two - an extension on two levels based on the shape of a Waka along with the upgrade of the other 10 floors above.

The building is situated in the heart of the University Main Campus and ultimate care was taken to assure the safety of university students and staff during the build. Care was also taken to dampen the noise of building while working in and around occupied buildings during the contruction.

The Waka styled extension is curved in shape in multiple directions, creating a design with very few square joints that required the extremely accurate off-site manufacture of structural steel, roofing and glazing components to assure a proper fit on site to feature the interesting angles & shapes.