Te Kahui Auaha Campus, Wellington

Architect/Designer: foster+melville

Te Kahui Auaha is a purpose-built campus in the heart of Wellington that houses the creative programmes of both Whitireia and Weltec. It was important that a wide range of durable products were considered for the floors due to breadth of needs of the facility providing space for; photography and film, hair and beauty, dance, audio recording and other creative technologies such as jewellery making and other visual arts. 

From an aesthetic standpoint, foster+melville architects looked for vibrant colours that would represent the eclectic mix of creative courses offered at the new campus. They wished to express this energy through traditional and culturally inspired designs, performing a wayfinding and locating role as well as being aesthetically pleasing. 

Jacobsen was selected for the flexibility, range and installation methods with Shaw Colour at Work carpet tiles being used throughout many of the spaces. Saturate tiles in assorted colours were layered with black in a herringbone pattern in the communal hallways while larger achromatic tiles in silver and black being used to contrast the workspaces. To maximise sound absorption, the achromatic carpet tiles utilised Shaw’s ecologix acoustic backing. 

Tarkett iQ Granit and Granit Safe.T were used in areas that required greater durability and slip resistance such as kitchenettes, bathrooms, massage therapy studios as well as hair and beauty studios. Alongside this, Regupo Everoll core was used on stairwells for its extreme durability and slip-resistance. 

Products used:

• Shaw Saturate carpet tiles
• Shaw Achromatic tiles
• Shaw’s ecologix acoustic backing
• Tarkett iQ Granit
• Tarkett Granit Safe.T
• Regupol Everoll core
• Tredsafe Stairnosing AA113