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New Zealand standard school buildings

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New Zealand standard school buildings were largely developed and built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Following the Second World War, more schools and classrooms were needed to address the pre-existing shortage and to handle the increasing school population with the subsequent baby boom. Using standard designs allowed the demand to be met while reducing construction time and costs.[1]

Primary school designs

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For the most part, primary school designs varied between education boards.[1]

Designs included:

  • Avalon[2]
  • Canterbury Open-Air Veranda[3][4]
  • Canterbury "White Lines"[3][4]
  • Canterbury Education Board Unit System (CEBUS)[3][4]
  • Canterbury Open-Plan[3][4]
  • Dominion Basic[1][3]
  • Formula[2]

Secondary school designs

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National Film Unit documentary about building new schools in 1957.

In contrast to primary schools, secondary school designs were standardised nationally.

Mana College, a Nelson Single-Storey school, in 1968

Nelson Single-Storey

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The Nelson Single-Storey is characterised by its single-storey H-shaped classroom blocks with a large toilet and cloak area on one side.[3]:31–33

Studies conducted in 1954 saw the move to separate self-contained blocks in secondary schools. The use of blocks eliminated the need for corridors and the savings in cost allowed enabled assembly halls to be constructed. The result was the Nelson Single-Storey school and the first schools of the type opened in 1957.[5]

Schools built to the Nelson Single-Storey plan include:

Nelson Two-Storey

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A Nelson Two-Storey Block under construction at Mairehau High School in July 1960.
Makora (now Makoura) College, a Nelson Two-Story school, in 1969.

The Nelson Two-Storey is a development on the Nelson Single-Storey design and is characterised by its two-storey H-shaped classroom blocks, with stairwells at each end and a large ground-floor toilet and cloak area on one side.[5][3]:115–118 The first Nelson Two-Storey schools opened in 1960, with the last schools opening in 1970.

There is also a T-shaped half version of the Nelson Two-Storey block. Often these were built as the first stage of a full block, but in some cases the second half was never built.[3]:115–118 Examples of the half-block exist at Western Heights High School in Rotorua, and Central Southland College in Winton.

Schools built to the Nelson Two-Storey plan include:

S68

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The internal courtyard of an S68 block at Rotorua Lakes High School, 1974.

The S68 is characterised by its single-storey classroom blocks of cinderblock or masonry construction, featuring low-pitched roofs and internal open courtyards.[3]:43–46

The low-pitched roofs, skylight windows and internal gutters and downpipes are prone to rusting and leaking, causing problems for many schools.[6]

The prototype S68 school was Porirua College, opened in 1968. The first standard S68 schools opened in 1971, with the last schools opening around 1978.

Schools built to the S68 plan include:

References

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  1. ^ a b c Garnock-Jones, Alan Peter (1966). McLintock, Alexander Hare (ed.). "Primary Schools". An encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. ^ a b Finnegan, John (18 November 2015). "Furthering the Understanding of Seismic Resilience in the Ministry of Education Buildings" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Catalogue of Standard School Building Types" (PDF). Ministry of Education. August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Williams, Murray Noel (2014). Building Yesterday's Schools: An Analysis of Educational Architectural Design as Practised by the Building Department of the Canterbury Education Board from 1916-1989 (Thesis). University of Canterbury. hdl:10092/9591. OCLC 889975505.
  5. ^ a b "Modern Planning -- 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  6. ^ Hill, Marika (2010-07-05). "Leaking roofs hit region's schools". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-05-04.

See also

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