The Waipārūrū Hall of Residence at 35 Whitaker Place Auckland, is New Zealand’s largest student accommodation facility, delivering 786 new accommodation rooms for University of Auckland students.

A striking structure, Waipārūrū Hall is spread across two towers - 12 storeys and 14 storeys tall, connected by a three-level podium with study areas, music rooms, gyms, two commercial kitchens and a large dining area for over 1,400 students.

Beca provided the design deliverables for tender, consent and construction, including civil and building services engineering for this project. Challenges included working within a tight inner-city site footprint, close to major public infrastructure (requiring strong acoustic design to minimise motorway noise) and integrating services with existing utilities infrastructure.

Modular pre-fabricated bathroom pods were used for all tower bathrooms and toilets. These were manufactured in Christchurch, shipped to the site and lifted into each level as construction progressed. Early coordination of the building services elements within the pods enabled clear connections to prefabricated pods on-site.

Mechanical services have made use of prefabricated duct/pipe risers, and pre-fabricated typical air conditioning units assemblies – both manufactured and assembled in Australia.

Beca also designed a two-pipe heating and cooling system (in lieu of a traditional four pipe system), to halve air conditioning pipework reticulation to the accommodation units, without compromising comfort.

Now open to students, COVID-19 disruptions notwithstanding, Waipārūrū Hall serves as an award-winning model of future campus design!

Awards


Image credit: Warren and Mahoney
 

$130 million

Project value

786

New student accommodation room

25,000 m2

Total Floor Area

Large, light-filled common space in stunning new Waipārūrū Hall student accommodation complex at University of Auckland.
Close up of light-filled common space in stunning new Waipārūrū Hall student accommodation complex at University of Auckland.
Exterior view from Whitaker Place of stunning new Waipārūrū Hall student accommodation complex at University of Auckland.
Exterior view of stunning new Waipārūrū Hall student accommodation complex at University of Auckland, showing the two residential towers in context.
Large, light-filled common space in stunning new Waipārūrū Hall student accommodation complex at University of Auckland.

Our Team Says

We wanted to create an environment beyond just a place to sleep, by activating spaces with exposed building services showcasing the normally concealed features of the building… the project (also) utilised a combination of BIM technologies (which enabled) off-site manufacturing.

Akshat Malhotra

Associate - Mechanical Engineering

Our Client Says

Waipārūrū Hall has set a new benchmark for first year fully catered accommodation in New Zealand. The overarching building services design principles and philosophies applied by Beca for the development have resulted in a facility that is reliable, flexible, efficient and easy to maintain.

Roger Butcher

Project Manager - University of Auckland

Our People

Akshat Malhotra

Associate - Mechanical Engineering

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Greg Williams

Technical Director - Building Services

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Nik McIntosh

Senior Associate – Building Services

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