Under a microscope - University of Auckland Science Faculty Building

With students teeming around the University campus like worker ants, lecture accommodation has increasingly been in short supply. To relieve pressure on the Science Faculty, the University of Auckland undertook extensions in the form of the new Science Building 303 in Wellesley Street.

Coated inside and out in a myriad of Resene paint systems and colours, the building is like a roadmap of colour, with splashes of colour features used throughout the complex to provide visual stimulation to relieve the stresses of study and avoid an institutionalised atmosphere. The splashes have an additional benefit of acting as a roadmap to the building - simply remember the colour of the location and students instantly know when they have returned to the correct place.

Befitting of an education facility, the exterior is a sleek blend of glass and tones of grey and precious metal metallics capped off by an intermix of Resene Cape Cod (dark grey) and Resene Cola (deep brown) on columns and bracing, a customised colour repeated on internal stairwell and link bridge steelwork. Plastered blockwork has a lightly textured finish of Resene Sandtex tinted to Resene Judge Grey (deep grey), providing textural relief without detracting from the overall sleek persona. Splashes of Resene Thunderbird (red orange) and Resene Valentino (inky purple) have been added in Resene Lumbersider satin acrylic to feature courtyard walls and the linking bridge to brighten the predominantly grey scheme for foot traffic giving just a wee taste of the colour sensations that await them within.

The interior is based on neutral tones of Resene Merlin (muddy grey), Resene Alabaster (near white) and Resene Stark White (off-white) from the Karen Walker range, a muted canvas for the multitude of colour features. Resene Zylone Sheen is used extensively over the interior fabric complemented by the higher gloss Resene Enamacryl on doors and joinery selected for its gloss contrast, durability and reliable block resistance.

Reading somewhat like a favourites of the Resene Total Colour System, features of Resene Saffron (orange yellow), Resene Caper (spring green), Resene Jazz (deep red), Resene Valentino, Resene Bunting (deep navy), Resene Thunderbird, Resene Tarawera (blue green) are masterfully interspersed throughout the numerous rooms and spaces each as a feature in its own right and collectively as a diversion away from the normal dull hues associated with the study of sciences. Soft hues of Resene Tasman (green-blue soft grey) and Resene Alabaster calm the restroom areas, perfect as a soother for those last minute exam nerves.

Even with study dominating brain space, few students have been able to resist remarking on the privilege of being the first to enjoy this fresh uplifting approach to campus life.

Architect: Paul Raven, Stephenson & Turner NZ Ltd
Building Contractor: Cameron Darwood, Mainzeal Construction
Interior Designer: Tina Wilson
Painting Contractor: Peter Heaphy, Contract Coatings
Resene: Northern Regional Architectural Division.

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