Wainuiomata Sportsville
Studio106 is an architecture and design practice, with a focus on sports and community facilities, sports-based education projects, and quality residential commissions across New Zealand.
Recently, Hutt City Council engaged Global Leisure Group to lead a Vision Concept for the Wainuiomata Sportsville project. As part of the team, Studio106 developed the concept design for a new hub facility and provided input on a broader Wainuiomata Sportsville masterplan created by landscape architects Boffa Miskell,
The Sportsville is to be located on Frederick Wise Park, right in the heart of the community. The new masterplan aims to link the existing town centre with existing park facilities, and a stronger connection to the Wainuiomata High School to the west, via an ‘Urban Link’ and the ‘Black Creek Recreational Corridor’ which runs along a natural watercourse through the park.
The new facility at the hub of the park is set to become home to founding clubs – soccer, rugby, rugby league, softball, bowls, croquet and cricket; as well as support users of the new BMX track and the local community.
Through the Sportsville model, finances, resources, and time are shared amongst a mix of community groups, clubs, and sports groups. It comes as a response to burnt out volunteers having to maintain a series of old separate buildings and green spaces. The hub will include a café, office, administration and meeting rooms, with changing rooms and a shared multi-use hall and clubrooms. Adjoining these, “dry” sports such as squash, and a ‘spectator foyer’ will complete the Hub.
Flexibility is the key.
Multiple uses for spaces, allowing for maximum value and community interaction, are vital aspects to a successful social space and a sustainable facility.
Equally important are the considerations to connect any Hub Building to the surrounding sports fields. We love to apply the concept of a “Pedestrian Boulevard” into projects – a shared space that acts as a social vein for the community and activities. We think Boffa have done a great job to take this one step further by adding some great ‘dynamic play’ areas into the landscape and urban design treatment and open up opportunities for informal use of smaller, intimate areas within a wider plan. Acknowledgement of the surrounding residential areas and retirement village is a great way to connect all ages of our communities.
Although still in an early stage, the project has been tabled with the Hutt City Council at the annual planning hearings and seeks $4.79 million over the next three years to facilitate the project.
We brought our specialist knowledge in sports facilities and masterplanning into the mix. Working alongside Boffa Miskell on the wider masterplanning was fantastic. It was great to provide feedback on the plan whilst engaging our expertise in the finer spatial planning subtleties. Studio106 provided similar input for the Fraser Park Sportsville, currently in Stage 2 of its development.
At our heart, creating design solutions that address the real needs of people is what we strive for. Our buildings are inspired by the social, cultural, and historical context of their location. And they always seek to address the functional, physical, and economic needs – both now and into the future.
This early spatial planning stemmed from an ethos of designing from the interior out. By identifying important connections and adjacencies between programmes, an understanding of the circulation and flow is created. It is important to emphasis these connections as they ultimately relate to how the end user will utilise the building, and assist in creating a sustainable facility – both socially and economically.
Check out this interesting news article about the project here
