Friday 10th November marked the official opening of Amesbury School's new learning studios with a red ribbon cutting ceremony by Wellington Mayor Tori Whanua, attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, school leadership, teachers, students and the wider local community.
This was Stage 2 of McKenzie Higham's involvement with the school - in 2012, our award-winning design for the new Amesbury school championed the then innovative learning concept of shared flexible-use learning studios. Construction of this phase, a new central hub building, incorporating nine learning spaces over two floors, began in 2019. In addition to the learning studios, there are fun spaces like the 'social stair' which doubles as a generous-sized seating area, and the students' favourite - the climbing wall. The exterior is enlivened with large colourful koru-inspired motifs, echoing the colour-blocking used in the original school.
The future-focused design will accommodate roll growth in the rapidly growing suburb, and strengthen the school's role as a focal point for the wider Amesbury community.
