Wellywood’s all-in-one creative campus

Te Auaha brings together an exciting mix of creative programmes for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs. Designed to foster collaboration and innovation, the unique building required clever design-thinking to combine various learning spaces into one.

In the heart of Wellington – the creative capital of New Zealand – WelTec and Whitireia’s new world-class learning facility aims to inspire the next generation of creatives.

Te Auaha offers everything from music, performing arts, film production and photography, to journalism and radio broadcasting, beauty therapy, hair and makeup artistry, visual arts, digital design, creative writing and publishing.

Spread across six floors, the building houses 9’000m² of interwoven creative spaces – providing dynamic environments for students to create, collaborate, innovate, perform or exhibit.

Incorporating building services and fire engineering into these spaces was no easy feat, with spaces ranging from dance, film, hair and makeup, and recording studios, to workshop spaces, theatre performance spaces, a cinema, radio station, and gallery display areas. Each had different and sometimes conflicting technical requirements.

Tailored building services were delivered to support these varying functions, including fresh air ventilation, natural and specialist lighting, vibration and acoustic isolation, and high-volume wastewater management.

Also incorporated are smart functions that optimise operations, such as air conditioning, lighting and security systems. This control is fully integrated with Te Auaha’s academic programming system and automatically activates when a particular space is booked for use.

With the capacity to produce around 1000 graduates each year, Te Auaha is set to deliver a megaton of creativity into New Zealand’s flourishing film, technology and arts industries.

Awards:

• 2018 Wellington Architecture Award (Education category)
• 2017 Best Awards (Large Brand Identity)