If you’ve ever known an engineering student, you’ll know it can be a tough gig. With long days and demanding schedules, prospective engineers need a space where they can focus intently on study to achieve those coveted A-grades.
With this in mind, the University of Auckland invited SmartSpace to tender for the desks and electronic lockers part of the furniture fitout of their new, purpose-built engineering building.
The vision of the project was to create a flexible space where students could both study and collaborate with their peers.
During the tender process, one of the criteria the university was impressed by was the style and durability of SmartSpace’s products.
“The major thing we liked about SmartSpace was the style of their products – especially the durability,” says University Project Coordinator, Jordan Howell. “Desks in an engineering building need to be able to withstand some stress!”
The project was no small feat, with over 36,000 m2 of floorspace over 12 floors.
SmartSpace provided 1300 workstations as well as droppers, soft wiring, screens, custom storage, tambour units, and our unique electronic smart locker system Smartalock.
“We’ve used Smartalock for lockers at the University of Auckland before, and it’s a great system,” says Howell. “Not only does it do away with the traditional lock and key but also, because it is assigned by hours, it means everyone gets a chance to have a locker.”
This is a far cry from the old locker system many of us remember from our school or university days.
“On my first day of uni each year it was like a running race to secure yourself a locker,” reminisces Howell. “If someone got in first and put their name on a locker, it was theirs for the year! The Smartalock system is much more democratic.”
The new building was designed for postgraduate research students from the 6th floor up, with the remaining floors for labs and co-working spaces. SmartSpace worked closely with architecture practice Jasmax and construction company Hawkins, a cohesive relationship that helped the project run smoothly.
“It was a great experience working with SmartSpace,” says Howell. “They delivered on time and on budget and had good control over the whole project.”
The first students to experience the new engineering building start their studies this month. SmartSpace is excited to gauge their feedback about their new study space in the coming months.
To see more images from the project, check out the University of Auckland - B405 and the rest of our Case Studies here.
Tagged: Workstation