Carlaw Park Student Village
The Stuart McCutcheon House, New Zealand’s largest new student housing project, opened in February 2023. Positioned on a prominent corner site, the final stage of Parnell’s Carlaw Park Student Village is located off Stanley Street close to the University of Auckland campus.
Developed and built by Haydn+Rollet, this University of Auckland accommodation facility sets a benchmark for sustainable, community-oriented urban living with energy-efficient lighting, water-saving fixtures, passive solar design principles, and 5 Green Star certification.
Inspired by American college accommodation and designed by architects Ashton Mitchell, the award-winning building occupies the site along its four boundaries, with a central courtyard that provides living and bedroom outlooks, privacy, and a relaxed, sheltered landscape for students to enjoy.
The courtyard can accommodate recreational activities ranging from volleyball to BBQs. After extensive consultation with students, the building has also incorporated new design elements including cinema rooms, gaming areas, retail, communal kitchens, music rooms, e-bike storage, study, and artistic spaces.
In collaboration with the flooring installer, Lovich, Haydn+Rollet and the architects, the Jacobsen team conceived a custom carpet tile, based on the Headlands range by Carpets Inter and rolled out in various colours for each of the levels. Moving beyond the ground floor, each floor is subtly colour-coded either green, blue or red. Corridors feature designs in brighter shades, with more neutral palettes adorning the bedrooms and interiors of apartments.
Due to the custom nature of the flooring, samples were made for approval before the manufacture and installation of the 22,100 square metres of carpet tiles commenced.
Acoustic soundproofing was carefully considered to create an urban oasis, despite being near a motorway entrance. This resulted in the use of Ecosoft backing throughout the apartment interiors for added comfort and sound management, whereas Ecosquare backing was utilised for the hallways and public areas.
The popular Tarkett Traffic 250 with Regupol acoustic underlay as well as Primo Safe.T and Optima vinyls are featured in the various kitchen, bathroom and service areas. Stair nosing with black inserts are featured on all stairways, supplied by Tredsafe.
The building has since been awarded the 2023 Property Council NZ - Multi-Unit Residential Best in Category award, 2024 NZ Commercial Project Residential Gold Award and 2024 NZ Commercial Project BIM Award.
