Scion Te Whare Nui o Tuteata
Te Whare Nui o Tuteata is a 1,800 m2 innovation and technology building located on Scion’s Rotorua campus, and is a showcase of timber and sustainable building principles that delivers modern and collaborative working spaces, as well as a new campus arrival point to strengthen the public interface for Scion.
The building comprises of an exhibition area, public café, main reception, meeting rooms and workspaces, linking to existing laboratories and testing facilities via the central innovation hub, all while serving as an inviting gateway for visitors and the community to come and better understand the value of timber research and innovation.
Te Whare Nui o Tuteata showcases Scion’s technology development for the forestry industry through the extensive use of engineered timber products made from sustainably grown pine throughout the building design. The dominant design feature is the diagrid timber structure, which is an efficient method to provide strength and stiffness to the structural form, requiring less material than the traditional steel or concrete structure. Due to the extensive use of engineered timber products the innovation centre achieved embodied carbon zero at the end of construction.
Accolades:
2021 WAF Winner - The Best Use of Certified Timber
2021 WAF Winner - Higher Education and Research
2021 Architecture MasterPrize - Best of the Best - Green architecture
2021 Architecture MasterPrize - Commercial
2021 New Zealand Architecture Award - Commercial
2021 INDE Awards - The Building
2021 INDE Awards - The Influencer - Honourable Mention
2021 Architizer A+Awards Jury - Architecture + Wood
2021 Architizer A+Awards Popular Choice - Architecture + Wood
2021 Property Industry Awards - Award of Excellence Green Building Property Award
2021 Property Industry Awards - Award of Excellence Commercial Office Property Award
2021 Resene Total Colour Neutrals Award