RDT Pacific provided Project Management services for Te Puna (the Hub) at Unitec’s campus on Carrington Road in Mt Albert.

This project, initiated in 2014, was the first step in the transformation of Unitec’s Mt Albert campus. It involved changes to both the physical environment and the pedagogy of learning at Unitec. Te Puna comprises 1,286 m² of new build construction (in an existing open-air courtyard) and 4,679 m² of refurbished adjacent existing space.

An important part of the transformation was to make the campus ‘stickier’, meaning students and staff spend significantly more time on campus and interact in new ways.

The site was a courtyard enclosed by two and three storey buildings built in the late 1990s. This space was under-used and unattractive, with significant environmental drawbacks. The brief was for a large open-plan social common designed to simultaneously fulfil roles as a library, a social gathering space, a learning environment where students will collaborate, a café and food service space, and space where a range of student support services would be provided.

A visually stimulating interior with a strongly Pacific flavour was required. RDT Pacific worked with the design team to consider the benefits of sustainable initiatives. A passive fresh air system was integrated based on design modelling and costing reviews.

Existing site conditions were captured by a 3D laser scanning process and integrated into the BIM model which was utilised from the design phase through to the construction phase as a virtual asset to hand over to Unitec’s Facility Management team.

The BIM Model was invaluable during the design and construction phases in detecting clashes and facilitating the design/construction coordination process. It was also a useful visualisation tool for the user group and construction team, and the various trade contractors who used it to create construction documentation.

Unitec have a state-of-the-art facility supported by a virtual BIM model managed by Unitec’s Facility Management team. The business case benefits are being tracked and benefits realised.