Middleton Grange School
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Occupying a gateway position, the Middleton Grange School Performing Arts Centre is a premium facility that represents the realisation of a dream that began back in 1996
When Middleton Grange School commissioned a ten year development plan that included provision of curriculum facilities for Drama, Music, Dance and Maori Culture, they had no idea it would take much longer than 10 years to fulfill their dream. Serious planning began with briefing a significant national architect to come up with a concept plan. However, after several attempts this firm was unable to deliver a viable solution.
Senior staff members from Middleton Grange School visited Bethlehem College, who were well on the way to completing a Performing Arts Centre with us, at a comparatively affordable price. The rest, as they say, is history. We were asked to provide a concept design and submission and our design team visited the school and met with all of the proposed facility users to fully evaluate their needs, assess the existing architecture and review any constraints of the proposed site.
The existing school was well established and the proposed site housed multiple classrooms, the existing music and drama suites, the original school hall and three residential dwellings. Along with a limited budget, designing a new facility while providing enough teaching space during construction presented a significant challenge. The site also had town planning issues.
Our design solution achieved all the functionality required and created an architectural statement at the gateway position to the school. Through some innovative design and negotiation with the Christchurch City Council we also gained resource consent without notification. Since opening, this eagerly anticipated Performing Arts Centre has earned the highest of praise from all its many users.