University awards contract for new Law building

University awards contract for new Law building

The University of Waikato has announced Fletcher Construction has won the contract to build the University’s new Law and Management building.

The announcement was made at a function to commemorate the 50th of Waikato held at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts on Thursday 13 March attended by the Prime Minister John Key, Chancellor Jim Bolger, Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker and other guests.

Work on the $20 million-plus building, which was designed by Opus International Consultants, will begin mid-April and construction is scheduled to take 16-18 months. The new Law and Management building will house Te Piringa - Faculty of Law and Waikato Management School's Centre for Corporate and Executive Education, as well as student services. It is expected that the new building will be completed by mid-2015.

University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Roy Crawford is pleased Fletcher has won the contract, as the company also carried out the work on the University’s award winning, multi-functional Student Centre, which was successfully completed in 2011.

“We are building a legacy at the University of Waikato for the community and future generations of students. This building is part of our strategy to provide world-class facilities and a student experience that is second to none,” he says.

The University generates $938 million annually in sales revenue for the New Zealand economy. Of that, $795 million is generated in the core Waikato area covered by Hamilton City Council, Waipa and Waikato district councils.

Professor Crawford says the new building, which is being constructed as the University celebrates its 50th anniversary, will be an iconic structure on Hillcrest Road and “a prominent feature that will become not just a landmark for the University, but for the city as well".

Fletcher Construction’s Waikato Manager Mark Ritchie says the company is looking forward to working with the University again, especially on such a significant building.

“This is a large project that will have an impact on the region, not just by providing new facilities on campus, but also in terms of generating jobs for local subcontractors and suppliers. We’re hoping to source as much local product as possible for the build,” he says.

Fletcher will be implementing traffic and noise management systems during the build.

The Law and Management building will have a five-storey office tower and rooms at a below-ground level that will feature a "living lawn" roof. The tower will have vertical sunshade vanes to symbolise the tukutuku reed panels of a traditional meeting house, natural ventilation, and glazed corridor walls for natural lighting. The tower will be linked below ground level to the existing Management

building on Hillcrest Road – beside the lower entrance to the PWC lecture theatre at level 1, and between the existing computer labs at level 0.

New teaching rooms, offices, interview/meeting rooms, a boardroom, computer labs, student services and reception areas are all part of the design, as are a moot courtroom and sunken courtyard.

Design emphasis has been on creating light, spacious, open areas for working and studying in, and for making the building as energy efficient as possible.

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