Located proudly at the northern edge of the Long Bay commercial area overlooking the nearby nature reserve, you’ll find BestStart’s latest ‘flagship center.’ Our involvement with this project began after the successful approval of the Resource Consent application by previous architects. We reconfigured the internal layout to better align with our client’s operational needs and embarked on a series of design iterations to arrive at the final design and layout.
A key feature of this project includes a simple sculptural building form, featuring angled portals extending over the north-facing play areas. Additionally, on the southern side, a substantial entrance canopy ‘flips up’ from the main facade, creating an eye-catching entrance point.
A concise materials palette was chosen to harmonize with the surrounding context. This includes the utilisation of precast concrete and brickwork for the lower and entrance levels, while the upper levels showcase a softer touch with solid timber fins overlaying vertical weatherboards. The roof form strengthens the geometry set up by the angled exterior portals.