Team Architects

Inserted between two existing and largely identical Neo-Brutalist buildings constructed in the late 1960s, the new Environmental Research Institute (ERI) is the latest building addition to the University of Waikato campus. The new ERI facility includes a ground floor reception and administration area, staff offices and student study spaces distributed across four levels. The new building is conceived as a distinctly different, but complementary ‘addition’ to its immediate neighbours. It is steel framed with a large glass curtain wall front and makes a bold statement with its zigzag aluminium sunscreen. The sunscreen functions not only as a solar shade and glare control device, but also as a ‘marker’ for the new main entry to the ERI and its neighbouring science blocks.